


Universal Fates

by Celty_me



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Down Character(s), Aged-Up Character(s), Altean Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Blaytz is the literal best, Canonical Character Death, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Good guy Lotor, How Do I Tag, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, I probably missed a tag, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Kidnapping, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance is so Pure, Lance needs care, Langst, M/M, Major Character Injury, Non-Sexual Slavery, OG Paladins Adopt New Paladins, Original paladins - Freeform, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Orphaned Paladins, Past Abuse, Pining Keith (Voltron), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Mom Allura (Voltron), Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), Temporary Character Death, Violence, abused lance, klance, plot heavy, shallura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-01-06 01:28:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 116,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celty_me/pseuds/Celty_me
Summary: Alfor, Zarkon, Trigel, Gyrgan, and Blaytz set off on missions across the galaxy to gather pieces of an artifact so Alfor can complete Voltron.Zarkon encounters a human boy with a missing arm fighting as a gladiator.Trigel encounters an enslaved young human girl whose genius is being exploited.Gyrgan encounters a human boy who disabled a pirate ship he and his people had been chasing.King Alfor encounters a young half-galra boy who aids the king and Coran when they are cornered by bandits.Blaytz encounters an Altean boy enslaved on a slave trading planet.Each ally feels compelled to rescue and adopt the orphans they encounter, setting the wheels of fate into motion.While each child carries the scars of their past, they form bonds too strong to ever be broken. They will find friendship and family with each other, and maybe love, even as events threaten everything they know and care for.---(I apologize for being terrible at summaries)(Loosely inspired by this tumblr post! https://mutantgurls.tumblr.com/post/164459982111/old-paladins-adopted-new-paldains)





	1. That Faraway Look

**Author's Note:**

> Without further ado, here's how Zarkon meets Shiro!
> 
> This fic details information learned in season 3 and 4, so if you aren't caught up yet, beware of spoilers!
> 
> The first few chapters of this fic are going to be intros, of a sort, that detail how the OG paladins encounter their adoptive children. The story will stay in the past for a while, but it will eventually catch up to the current Voltron timeline (I.E. 10,000 year time jump), but that's going to be a ways down the line. 
> 
> Also, keep in mind that this is actually a Klance fic! It's a Slow Burn in the sense that the real Klance stuff will be a little slow to show up at the beginning, but once we get to it it's going to come fast! I love Klance so much.

_On a black market trade planet, five years before the creation of Voltron_

“Emperor Zarkon, now that we have obtained what we needed we should return to the ship. It’s dangerous for you to be out here for too long with so few guards,” the Galra soldier next to Zarkon said.

The emperor didn’t look at the soldier, but instead focused his gaze towards the loud cheering of the gladiator pits. Gladiator fights were common amongst the galra, but the participants were always willing. On these black market trade planets, out on the fringes of the system outside of galra control, the planet lords kidnapped aliens from around the galaxy to create exciting matches. He detested it, but the galra were not in a position to take down the planet and its savagery just yet.

“Emperor Zarkon?” the soldier questioned.

Zarkon ignored him – he was inexplicably drawn to the vicious cheering, so he began to walk. His guard made an alarmed noise and may have said something, but the emperor kept moving until he had to shove through cheering spectators.

Although no one knew they were in the presence of the actual galran emperor, they still swallowed their protests when they saw the massive purple skinned man who had pushed them aside. Galra were well-known to be vicious fighters and no one was eager to start a brawl with one, especially one so large.

When Zarkon got to the edge of the pit, his brows furrowed. On one side of the arena was a massive alien hound that Zarkon couldn’t immediately identify. It was covered in grotesque spines that oozed some sort of muddy yellow substance. The creature wasn’t of much interest, there were horrors similar to it on planets all over.

The one fighting the creature, however, was of interest. He was just a boy, younger than Zarkon’s own son. He was some sort of alteanoid, though he lacked the distinct markings of an Altean. He was also missing an arm that had been replaced with a crude biotic limb.

As Zarkon watched, the creature charged at the boy who quickly dove out of the way, but not before grabbing firmly onto one of the thing’s spikes. The thing whirled, but the boy held on tight. He brought his legs up and firmly planted them against the creature’s flank and pulled. Zarkon could see the strain on his face, even from his perch high above the pit.

The creature let out of screeching yelp as the boy pulled the spine free and landed on the ground. The creature whirled on him, it’s maw opening to reveal sharp, jagged teeth as it prepared to end the boy’s life.

Zarkon felt a twinge as he realize he was about to see the poor boy die, but instead the boy surged to his feet as soon as the creature’s mouth opened and thrust the spike into it’s mouth. Despite the spines, the creature must have had a fairly soft mass because the spike easily broke through the back of its head. The boy backed up, his gaze never leaving the creature.

For a moment the thing stood there, it’s four eyes blinking as if it didn’t realize yet that it was dead, and then it went crashing to the ground. The crowd erupted into cheers and they began to chant.

“Champion!” they shouted over and over.

Zarkon remained silent. He stared down at the battered boy, saw the huge scar bisecting his nose bridge, the scarred skin around the edge of his biotic arm, his limp black hair. He was so young and judging by his title ‘Champion,’ this wasn’t his first fight.

“Captain Morek,” Zarkon said. The soldier at his side snapped to attention.

“Emperor,” Morek replied.

“Where do they take the gladiators after a fight?” he asked.

“If they fight willingly, they are free to go after a match. If they aren’t, there are usually cells near the arena,” Morek said immediately.

Zarkon watched as armed men hustled into the arena and dragged away the exhausted looking boy.

“We are taking that boy back with us.”

“Emperor, I don’t think they will allow that. Skilled gladiators bring them too much money.”

“We are not going to ask permission, Captain Morek. Let’s go,” Zarkon replied.

The captain knew better than to argue. They had gone to the black market planet secretly to obtain an artifact needed by Emperor Zarkon’s close friend and ally, King Alfor of Altea. The Emperor wouldn’t jeopardize that if he didn’t think this wasn’t of the utmost importance.

When the pair arrived at the ramshackle building where the unwilling gladiators were held, Zarkon wasted no time stealing around the back. There was one armed mercenary guarding a back door, and the Emperor himself broke his neck before the alien could even register he was being attacked.

Captain Morek stepped in front of his emperor before he could enter the building first, and opened the door and did a quick sweep before motioning the emperor inside.

There didn’t seem to be any actual guards inside the building, probably because the planet lords didn’t believe anyone was stupid enough to try and jailbreak a gladiator on their turf.

It was easy to find the boy among the cages – he was huddled at one corner of his cell, eyes straight ahead, staring at nothing and seeing nothing. Zarkon recognized that faraway look – it was the same look that prisoners of war had on their faces when they came home. It was as if they shut down every emotion they’d ever had to protect themselves from the horror they had faced.

Zarkon knelt by the bars of the boy’s cage, ignoring the worried growl of the captain behind him.

“Boy,” Zarkon said softly. The boy didn’t move, and Zarkon had to call to him twice more before that distant gaze turned to him.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am Emperor Zarkon of the Galra Empire.”

“Galra,” the boy’s said as his eyes widened. “I’ve heard of you. Why are you here?”

“It doesn’t matter. Right now I plan to get you off of this planet. Will you come with me?”

“Why? Why are you helping me?” the boy asked.

“You are strong, and brave, and talented, and far too young to have had to prove any of those things. We don’t have much time, you must decide now if you want to come with me.”

“Alright,” the boy said after only a brief moment of hesitation.

Zarkon nodded at Captain Morek to slice through the lock on the cell with a glowing purple blade. The boy stood, and wobbled slightly, before straightening his back.

“What’s your name?” Zarkon asked. “Takashi Shirogane. Shiro.”

“Well Shiro, welcome to the Galra empire.” Zarkon held out his hand, and the boy accepted it immediately.

\---

Back on the galra home planet, Daibazaal, Zarkon led the boy to the science bay that had been built near to the rift caused by the comet that had crashed into Daibazaal so many years ago. The boy looked better after a few days of rest aboard Zarkon's ship, and a much needed bath, but he was still weak. 

At the science bay, they were met by Zarkon's wife, and as always he was left breathless at her beauty. She had changed somewhat after years of studying the rift that had been left on Daibazaal, she was colder somehow, but her love for Zarkon had not diminished.

“Honerva,” he said affectionately. The Altean woman didn’t smile as much anymore, but she smiled then at the sight of her husband returned.

“Husband,” she replied. Zarkon allowed himself to drink in the sight of his wife for a few long moments before he pushed the boy forward.

“This is Shiro, the newest member of the Galra Empire. He lost his arm fighting as a gladiator and this replacement is too crude. Can you design him something better?”

Honerva stepped forward and grabbed the crude biotic limb. Her face pinched in concern, and Zarkon was happy to see the emotion on her face. He was happy to see any emotion on her face recently.

“You poor boy. You’re so young. I can create something far superior to this. Husband, have the medical team remove this thing from his arm and have them heal him to the best of their abilities. I’ll have something new ready in three days.”

“Are you sure you are okay with taking time away from studying the rift?” Zarkon asked.

Honerva gave a firm nod. “This is important.”

“Alright. Shiro, follow me.” Zarkon turned and walked off.

He led the boy to the medical bay and turned him over to the galra healers. They put him into a healing sleep then set about removing his biotic arm, hissing and clucking at the how crude it was and how much it must have pained the boy.

Zarkon left at their assurances that the boy would be fine. He didn’t return to Honerva – he knew his wife and she would be oblivious to the outside world while she worked on this project. Instead he received reports from his people, attended meetings, and attended to his duties as emperor.

Three days passed so quickly that Zarkon was startled when a healer came to him saying Honerva was in the medical bay and ready to help the boy.

Zarkon arrived and smiled at his wife. She smiled back and for a moment she looked like the woman she’d been when they had first met. Softer, kinder, expressive.

“Alright, Shiro,” she said to the boy who had just recently been awakened from his medical sleep. His wounds were completely healed, though most had scarred including the large one across his nose bridge, but he looked better.

“To let this limb truly become a part of you, we will need to infuse it with some of your own quintessence.”

“I’m not sure what that is ma’am,” Shiro said.

“Quintessence is your life force, the energy in all living things. Pure life energy. We will channel your quintessence into the limb so that it bonds to you completely. However, it will strain your body to have your quintessence manipulated, it may hurt and there might be some physical changes to your appearance.”

“That’s alright, ma’am.”

“Alright, let’s get started.” Honerva nodded to the healers nearby, and they pulled a cloth off the table to reveal a beautifully designed biotic arm. It was elegant and perfectly proportioned to Shiro’s body.

They fitted one end of it to the small stump of Shiro’s severed arm, and once it was in place Honerva hovered her hands over where the flesh met the metal. The alchemist’s hands began to glow, and Shiro’s body stiffened. His eyes fluttered closed and his face pinched, but he made no sound.

The glow from Honerva’s hands spread to Shiro’s entire body, and after a long moment it slowly began to filter into the biotic arm. Zarkon’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched the long fringe of Shiro’s hair in the front begin to lose its color. The white patch of hair grew as his quintessence filtered into the arm. When the glow reached the end of the fingers, the glow flared brightly once and then snuffed out.

Both Shiro and Honerva were panting, and the boy now had a pure white section of hair at the front, but when he opened his eyes he started smiling. He sat up and lifted his new arm. The fingers flexed, and the happiness on his face grew.

“I can feel it,” he said breathlessly. “It doesn’t hurt, and it feels so real.”

“The arm is a part of you now, and once you get used to it, it will be so much more. It can be used as a weapon to defend yourself – you will never be without protection now, wherever you go,” Honerva said.

“I…” Shiro trailed off. “I don’t know how to thank you.” The boy seemed overcome with emotion.

Honerva put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and looked at him with a fondness Zarkon hadn’t seen on her face since Lotor was a child.

“You don’t need to thank me. You are a part of my family now and you won’t experience hardship like that ever again.” There was a dangerous edge to Honerva’s voice, as if she were ready to kill anyone who tried to hurt the boy. Zarkon hadn’t been planning to adopt the boy, he had planned to turn him over to his commanders to nurture and train, but seeing Honerva’s sudden affection, Zarkon decided that he now had another son.


	2. Brave and Intelligent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigel lands on a familiar planet, only to notice something strange is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two, hooray! I already have a few chapters written so the first few will come pretty quick. I'll come up with an update schedule after that! I hope you enjoyed Zarkon and Shiro's story. Now we get to see how Trigel met Pidge.

_On Triori, a legal trade planet near the Dalterion Belt._

 

            Trigal felt more than a little put out at being sent on some secret mission by King Alfor of Altea. She knew that the project he was working on with the strange comet that had hit Daibazaal was important for not just Altea, but the universe. The five leaders who had been meeting that night had formed a bond when the comet streaked down from the sky above them, and she knew that she, Alfor, and their allies would all benefit from this project, and she knew Alfor wouldn’t have insisted she be the one to retrieve the artifact if it wasn’t absolutely crucial, but she still felt put out. Her vice was knowledge and information, artifacts interested her very little. The only thing keeping her from fully brooding was the fact that Alfor had left on his own errand at the same time as she and the other three had.

            He’d sent her to Triori, a moon orbiting a gas giant that served as a major trade hub for this system. Trigel’s people had a huge presence on Triori and were part of the leadership, which was why Alfor had sent her there. As the leader of her people, it meant that she was technically a part of the leadership on Triori as well. She had been there many times – there was always new knowledge to be found, and she prized knowledge above all else.

            However, as Trigel wandered the streets – hooded so she wouldn’t be noticed, she felt that there was something different about Triori. Alfor had stressed secrecy so she hadn’t contacted any of her people on the planet before arrival, but something was undoubtedly off.

            The feeling of wrongness was pervasive even as she met her contact and retrieved Alfor’s artifact. She knew that Alfor’s mission needed to take precedence over everything else, but she couldn’t shake the feeling, so before her contact could disappear back into the crowd she stopped him with a soft word.

            “There is something different about Triori. What is it?” she asked the small alien man. The little bipedal, mammalian creature, a rinsel, shifted nervously and swept his four eyes side to side before refocusing on Trigel.

            “Information was not part of the deal,” he said. The voice was surprisingly deep for such a small creature – Trigel made a note to update her records on rinsel upon return to her planet.

            “Consider it a good faith gift,” Trigel said. Her tone left no room for argument. When Trigel requested something, especially if it was information she was interested in, she got it no matter what. Despite her small stature and pleasant appearance, she inspired fear in others when someone stood between her and knowledge she wished to have.

            “There’s…” the rinsel paused and his eyes swept around again. “There’s talk that leadership of Triori has changed. People are afraid now.” Before Trigel could ask him to elaborate, the little creature took off like a shot through the busy streets. The green clad woman pressed her lips together and watched the bustle around her. She kept one hand clasped firmly around her satchel holding Alfor’s artifact as she walked, and slowly she began to realize what was wrong.

            The Triori market streets were too quiet – the norm for the market was shouting, haggling, people talking louder and louder to be heard above the din of others doing just the same. Now the streets were hushed. There was still a crush, aliens from all over the system pressed together, but their voice were hushed and their eyes shifty.

            Trigel replayed the rinsel’s words. A change in leadership. That shouldn’t have been possible – Trigel’s people were the majority leaders of the market planet, alongside a council of various other alien species. The council kept the market clean – no drugs, no slaves, no dirty black market. Off course there were illegal trades that happened, sometimes it was a necessary evil for markets to thrive, but the council made sure Triori was secure for any honest traders that wanted to set up. If the leadership had changed, Trigel doubted it was a peaceful change.

            Trigel walked down a long set of stairs to one of the lower market streets, and it didn’t take her very long to arrive outside of a familiar shop. She hadn’t intended to make her presence on Triori known, but it seemed that she was going to have to deal with this situation before leaving.

            The alien who stood at the counter opened his mouth to utter a greeting, but snapped it closed as soon as Trigel pulled her hood down.

            “Madame,” he hissed in a low whisper. Trigel’s eyes narrowed. Why would Edipek be whispering in his own shop?

            “Edipek, what is going on?” Trigel asked. The burly orange alien rushed out from behind his counter and ushered Trigel into a back room. He shut the door, then immediately went to a recording device and pressed a button. Grating music filled the room and Trigel’s eye twitched at the uncomfortable sound.

            Edipek gestured her over and pulled her close. Trigel would have been affronted had the information broker not look so worried.

            “You shouldn’t be here alone Madame,” Edipek whispered. He leaned in close and spoke right next to her ear.

            “Tell me what’s happened here.”

            “A Galra man appeared here a few weeks ago, looked like a pirate and not part of the Empire. He had someone with him, some small creature, but it was cloaked so no one was able to figure out what it was. He was here five days before all the players on this planet started getting messages. He somehow knew all our secrets – things said in private that he had no business knowing. He’s blackmailing everyone, including the leadership. The whole planet is running scared, everyone’s afraid to talk to each other. The knowledge and information that used to be traded through here has all but stopped. No one knows how he knows what he knows, and he’s choking the life out of Triori.”

            “And what about the creature he was with?” Trigel asked. Her mind was spinning with anger. The tangible goods traded on Triori were secondary to the vast knowledge that ran through its streets. She could not allow anyone who threatened that to walk free.

            “There are rumors that somehow it’s responsible for collecting all the knowledge. The galran doesn’t let many close, but he seems to have a weakness for pretty aliens. The men and women he’s summoned to please him haven’t been able to get a good look at the other creature, but they don’t believe it’s there willing.”

            “You think he has something enslaved? Something that can somehow gather vast amounts of information?”

            “That’s the theory on the streets, but no one is willing to risk discussing it too much, and no one has wanted to risk informing you. We still don’t know how they are listening in on everyone.”

            “I understand. Tell me where the Galra is holed up.”

            “Madame you cannot. He has guards. If you go there to try and stop him he could kill you.”

            Trigel grinned. “He could try.”

 ---

            Trigel stood outside the door where the Garla was staying, the butt of her polearm resting on the ground. Behind her, the so called “guards” were scattered on the floor. They were alive, after all Trigel didn’t know if they were there willingly or being blackmailed, but they were all unconscious or incapacitated.

            She put here hand to the door and pushed, almost laughing as it opened easily. The galra was arrogant enough that he didn’t even lock his door.

            Trigel had a split moment to leap to the side when a blaster shot came at her. She rolled out of the way and took a brief moment to survey the room. It was only her and the blaster wielding Galra – easy.

            Trigel gripped her polearm tighter and dashed to her feet, keeping low to the ground and the Galra fired. She zigzagged out of the way until she was within striking distance and thrust out the bladed end of her polearm, letting the shaft slide through her palm toward the pirate. It took him in the chest, and his yellow eyes went wide as he looked down at the blade protruding there. His blaster clattered to the ground, and his body tipped forward as Trigel yanked the blade from his body.

            Trigel wiped the blood off her blade using the galra’s cloak before standing straight. She walked toward a connecting room and spotted a small figure huddled in a corner beside an exceedingly complex looking mechanical device.

            “The galra pirate is dead. You can come out now,” Trigel announced. The figure shifted, and looked up. The hood of the cloak fell back revealing a startlingly young face. The girl was some sort of Alteanoid, resembling them in almost every way except she lacked the distinctive Altean facial markings. Her hair was a beautiful, orange-brown color and it framed large, expressive brown eyes.

            Trigel was momentarily stunned at how young the girl was, still just a young child, far younger that King Alfor’s young daughter.

            Trigel set her polearm on the ground and approached the girl slowly, before bending down in front of her. She smiled and indicated the machine to the side.

            “Did you make this?” she asked. The girl nodded.

            “He told me I had to or he’d kill my brother.”

            “I see. And the device allows you to listen in on the planet?”

            “Yeah but it won’t work on other planets. This planet has a unique magnetosphere that almost mimics the signals of a communications satellite. I can bounced a signal off the magnetosphere and capture soundwaves – it’s like the planet is covered in one giant satellite.”

            “That’s something I did not know,” Trigel admitted. “Did you invent this yourself?”

            “My brother and I theorized about magnetospheres like this, but we didn’t know if it could actually work until I built it here. Do you know where my brother is? Do you know if he’s here? They killed our family, he’s all I have left,” she asked. Trigel felt a stab of guilt – the galra was dead, and with him went the knowledge of where the girl’s brother was.

            “I don’t know where your brother is, but we can find him together. If you come with me, I can be your new family,” Trigel said. The girl’s eyes went impossibly wide.

            “Really?” she asked. Trigel smiled and nodded.

            “Yes. What’s your name?”

            “Katie Holt, but I don’t like that name.”

            “What do you like?”

            “Pidge!” the girl said decisively. Trigel found the name strange, but it seemed like just the sort of nickname a child would enjoy.

            “Alright Pidge. My name is Trigel of the Dalterion Belt. Let’s go home.” Trigel held out her hand, and the young girl took it. They strode out of the room, and she hardly batted an eye at the dead galra on the floor. Trigel smiled again – whatever the girl was, she was brave and intelligent, and fondness blossomed in her chest.


	3. I Like the Sound of That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gyrgan is heading home to Rygnirath when he spots a pirate ship too close to his planet, so he gives chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy chapter three. As I mentioned below, I have all the intros already written so I'll be getting all those up by the end of the week. 
> 
> I realized after making this chapter that Hunk and Gyrgan's story was much shorter than the others. I'm sorry for doing wrong by the big teddy bear, but I'll make up for it later. 
> 
> Last thing, my updates will probably come at really odd hours of the day. Don't worry, I'm not an insomniac posting chapters at 3am, I currently live in east Asia so I'm just in a whole other time zone. 
> 
> And with that said, please enjoy this story of how Gyrgan and Hunk meet! Spoiler alert: Hunk's a soft and fluffy badass

_On a space vessel, heading towards Rygnirath_

            “Lord Gyrgan, we are coming up on a pirate vessel. What should we do?”

            “What?” Gyrgan said in alarm. He immediately stood up from his chair and paced. “So near to Rygnirath? What are they out here for? Are they heading towards our home? Do they want to raid our food caches?” Gyrgan tended to ramble when stressed. He was a smart, efficient leader, but he rambled and he knew it. He was just startled. He’d just gotten done with an easy mission given to him by King Alfor of Altea and wanted to go home and have a celebratory feast before delivering the artifact back to his ally.

            “I don’t know sir,” the officer said.

            “We can’t let them stay on course so near to home. Everyone to their stations, prepare to engage. Non-destructive force – shoot to disable, not destroy. If it’s a pirate vessel they may have slaves on board, I want no collateral damage. Once it’s disabled, prepare to board.”

            There was a chorus of affirmatives as the ship began gearing up its weapons array. The pirate vessel must have spotted them because they diverted course and began to speed up. Gyrgan leaned forward and slammed his hand on the console in front of him.

            “Don’t let them get away,” he ordered. Their ship increased its speed – it was much smaller and faster than the pirate ship, and started gaining on the enemy ship.

            “Lord Gyrgan, something’s happening,” one of the officers said. The image on the screen in front of them enhanced, and they watched the pirate vessel suddenly list dramatically. A moment later, an explosion burst from the front of the ship, near where the engines would be. Another moment later, the ship went dead and no power signatures showed up on their scanners.

            “Well,” Gyrgan laughed. “Looks like someone took out that ship from the inside. Follow me to the shuttle, I want to greet the person who’s responsible.”

            Gyrgan boarded a shuttle with half his crew and they quickly breached the pirate ship. They made their way to the bridge, but didn’t encounter any pirates along the way. They didn’t let their guards down, but it was odd.

            When they got to the bridge, the team took up positions on both sides. On Gyrgan’s mark they opened the door and rushed in, preparing themselves for an attack from the pirates. Instead, they face a lone boy at the center of the room who looked scared and sheepish.

            “Don’t shoot! I’m not a pirate!” he said. Gyrgan lowered his blaster and got a better look at the boy. He was an alteanoid of some kid, but lacked the distinctive facial markings. He was thick set and tall, just like Gyrgan himself, and had a friendly sort of appearance that evoked a sense of trust. Gyrgan liked him instantly.

            “Did you disable the ship?”

            “Yeah. I mean, sort of. My friends were helping me before…” the boy paused and took in a deep, shaking breath to compose himself before starting again. “Before the pirates sold them. Once they were all gone, the pirates didn’t pay much attention to me so I was able to finish hacking into their systems and dismantling them.”

            “You said you were here with your friends. Are you Altean?”

            “Uhm, all do respect sir, I have no idea what an Altean is. I don’t know what you are either, or any of the aliens on this ship. I was on a generation science ship from our planet. Our parents left on it before we were born, there were three families plus some other scientists, and the goal was to study alien planets and possibly find alien life. Except four months ago alien life found us, and they were pirates. They…” the boy paused again and Gyrgan took a step forward. He put a big hand on the boy’s shoulder and gave it a couple reassuring pats.

            “Thanks. So they boarded the ship and they killed all the adults and took the kids prisoner. They sold Shiro almost immediately, but Pidge, Matt and I were working on dismantling the ship after he was gone, but then they were sold to. Now it’s just me and I sabotaged all the ships important systems, then I sent a false signal to the crew saying there was a massive fire in the lower engine room and they all went to try and put it out, then I came up to the bridge and blew up the engine and al the pirates with it.” By the time the boy was done talking he looked green in the face and although Gyrgan wasn’t familiar with his species, he guessed that wasn’t a good sign.

            “You did good, son, and if your family is dead that you are a part of my family now! We’ll go back to my planet, we’ll feast in celebration of your induction into our clan, and then we will go speak with my allies about trying to find your missing friends. My friends are the smartest and bravest people in the universe and they’ll help any way they can,” Gyrgan soothed. The boy’s eyes turned up to him, and there was a sparkle there.

            “A feast?” he said hopefully. Gyrgan boomed a laugh and patted the boy’s shoulder again. He knew immediately that this boy would fit in with his people. He was strong, intelligent, and he loved food.

            “A mighty one! My people bond over food, it is at the center of our culture!” Gyrgan could have sworn that drool dripped down the boy’s chin.

            “That sounds good… I just… I never wanted to kill anyone,” he said quietly. Gyrgan gripped both the boys’ shoulders.

            “Sometimes we aren’t given a choice in this universe. Sometimes we have to kill the bad people so we can save the good ones.”

            “Does it get easier? I feel sick, even though I know they were bad.”

            “It gets easier in some ways, but it’s never easy. That’s why you need to keep close to your friends, eat lots of good food, and remember who you are fighting for. Not everyone in this universe can hack a ship’s system or disable engines. You were not the first slave on that ship, and your family wasn’t the first ones they’d killed. Don’t let yourself become cold, but don’t let their lives weigh heavily on your soul. Gefith knows your true heart, and that’s what matters.”

            “I… thanks. A lot has happened recently.”

            “I can see that, but now it’s time to go home for that feast I promised. Are you ready to get off this Gefith forsaken ship?”

“Oh yeah, totally. Who are you though man?”

            “I am Gyrgan of the planet Rygnirath! What’s your name?”

            “Uh, Hunk Garrett, of the planet Earth.”

            “You are Hunk Garrett of Rygnirath now!”

            “I like the sound of that,” Hunk said.

            “As do I. Let’s get off this hunk of scrap and head home.” Gyrgan steered the boy away from the ship, keeping him engaged in conversation so that the boy’s mind didn’t wander back towards the tragedy that had ripped his friends and family away from him and led him to blowing up dozens of people. Gyrgan’s new mission was to make sure this boy had a new family that loved him just as much as the old one.


	4. Like a Dervish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Alfor and Coran prepare to fight a group of thieves, but they get some unexpected help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh all your comments make me smile so much. I really love reading and responding to your comments so keep them coming! 
> 
> Now please enjoy reading about how Alfor and Coran meet Keith!

_On Bri’agda, the third largest travel hub in the galaxy._

            “King Alfor, I think we’re being followed,” Coran murmured to the king as they walked through the bustling streets of Bri’agda. They were heading back to their ship after having successfully retrieved the artifact that would allow Alfor to complete his project. It had taken years for Alfor to track down what he needed, and now he and his four closest allies and friends had scattered across the galaxy to retrieve the last pieces of the puzzle. They were so close, but Bri’agda’s streets weren’t safe and gangs of thieves stalked the roads looking for wealthy or weak targets.

            The gangs on the travel hub weren’t ones for subtle pickpocketing. Their success relied on using their superior numbers to corner, then attack their targets. Neither Alfor nor his royal advisor, Coran, felt that the Bri’agda leadership was doing enough to deal with the problem, and innocent people were being hurt and killed by these gangs, but Altea had next to no influence on this planet and the leadership showed no signs of change any time soon.

            “I see them,” Alfor said. “At the next street, turn left. We need to lose them before we go back to the ship.” Some of the gangs had pirate contacts, and there were rumors that marks who had escaped onto ships were later boarded by pirates. Alfor’s ships were far superior to any pirate ship out there, but with only a crew of only two, not to mention the delicacy of their mission, they didn’t want to have to engage unless necessary.

            Alfor and Coran quickly darted down another street, then another, increasing their pace each time.

            “We’re not losing them,” Coran said.

            “They likely have scouts, keep going. If we have to fight them we need to do it away from others. I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.”

            “Right!” The pair continued weaving through the maze of streets until it became progressively less crowded. King Alfor and Coran exchanged a look, then took off running. They ran into a dead-end alley and then turned to the entrance to see a mixed gang of aliens laughing and strutting towards them.

            “Looks like the tourists backed themselves into a corner,” one of them sneered.

            “On the contrary my friends!” Coran said with a grand sweep of his arms. “You’ve fallen into our trap! We aren’t about to let some dirty thieves best us.”

            The thieves laughed and brandished their weapons. Alfor shot Coran an amused look and pulled his sword. Coran followed suit, but a flash of movement on the rooftop to their left caught Alfor’s eyes. He looked up in time to watch a young galra boy launch himself from the rooftop. He landed on the back of one of the thieves and thrust his black dagger into the woman’s back. Like a dervish, he spun through the remaining thieves, wielding his knife with practiced ease until all six of them were incapacitated on the ground.

            Coran stared at the boy in open mouthed shock, but Alfor kept his expression neutral as the young boy turned to look at them. He was at least a couple years younger than Alfor’s own daughter, and had the gaunt, skinny frame of a street child and a mop of black hair. His yellow eyes were wary and they constantly shifted around as if he expected a threat to pop out from every shadow. He also seemed different than most galra – Alfor thought it likely that the boy was only half galra. He had the large, furred ears of the more mammalian galra, but his light purple skin lacked any markings and his features lacked the more animalistic cast of most galra.

            “You need to stick to the busy streets, it’s safer,” he said. He started walking out of the alley but for some reason Alfor felt uneasy letting the boy go.

            “Wait!” he called, but the boy took off running and by the time Alfor made it to the mouth of the alley, there was no sign of him.

            “King Alfor, we should head back to the ship,” Coran said. Alfor knew that his advisor was right – they needed to get the artifact safely back to Altea but…

            “No, we need to find that boy.”

            “Why? It was just a street child, probably a galra halfbreed cast out by its parents. This planet is dangerous and it would be best for us to return to Altea immediately before anyone discovers these bodies.” Coran gestured wildly to the five collapsed figures.

            “The boy risked himself to save complete strangers.”

            “Yes he was very brave, but I don’t think I need to remind you of how important this mission is. As your advisor I must advise that we leave at once.”

            “I understand Coran, but I cannot just leave. There is something telling me that I need to find that boy. He’s important, even if I don’t yet know why.” Coran sighed at the words. He knew there would be no talking his king out of this now that his mind had been made.

            “Alright, then I suggest we become the stalkers here. If the boy is helping save tourists from the gangs, then all we need to do is follow the gangs as they follow someone else.”

            “Let’s split up. I’ll contact you if I find him, you do the same.”

            “Right. And if I follow a gang and the boy doesn’t show up to help the poor target, what should I do?”

            “Help if you can, but don’t get yourself hurt.”

            “Yes!” Coran said. He took off right down the street and Alfor went left.

 ---

            There were dozens of gangs on the planet and it took Alfor and Coran three days to catch just a glimpse of the sly galra boy. Instead of annoying Alfor, he became progressively more impressed at the boy’s ability to evade detection. Both Alfor and Coran were highly trained warriors, and yet the boy continued to outsmart them.

            It was on the fourth day when the boy buckled and dropped down from a rooftop in front of the king.

            “Why are you following me?” he snarled. Alfor held up his hands in a placating gesture.

            “I just want to talk.”

            “Why?”

            “Why are you out here risking yourself to save people from the thieves?”

            “It’s the right thing to do.” The boy said the words plainly with no hint of arrogance or deception. Alfor rolled his lips to keep from smiling. He wondered if the boy realized what a remarkable thing he’d just said.

            “What about your family? Aren’t they worried?” Alfor asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted the boy to keep talking so he didn’t try to leave.

            “I don’t have a family,” the boy said with a shrug. He didn’t seem particularly sad about his lack of family, but Alfor had a feeling that the boy was good at hiding his emotions.

            “I see, and you like helping people?”

            The boy shrugged again. “I don’t like or dislike it, but lots of people here get hurt and if I can stop it, I should.”

            “Well then.” Alfor let himself smile. “What if there was a way you could help make a bigger difference? I have allies and we are looking to make the universe a better place for all. We want to bring peace – you could be a part of that.”

            “Wha—” the boy’s eyes were wide and confused. “Why me?”

            “Because you’re smart, and you help people here without expecting anything in return. I can offer you a family, I can be your family, if you’ll allow, and together we can help the universe.” The words were out of Alfor’s mouth before he even really knew what he was saying, but he realized that it felt right. He knew that the material of the comet he was working on was something incredible, something that defied explanation and had something near to sentience. Maybe it was Alfor’s constant exposure to it over the years that was making him feel such a connection to the half galra boy. He was important, for some reason, Alfor could feel it in his bones, and the king felt budding affection for the child he’d only met briefly a few days prior.

            “I… do you mean it?”

            “Yes. Will you come with me?” Alfor asked. He watched fear and distrust flash across the boy’s face, but below that was something else – hope.

            “I— Yes,” the boy said weakly. Alfor smiled and stepped forward to put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

            “My name is King Alfor of Altea. What’s your name?” Alfor asked. The boy’s eyes got wider at the reveal of Alfor’s title, and he had to swallow thickly a few times before speaking.

            “Keith. My name’s Keith.”

            “I’m glad to meet you, Keith.” Alfor pulled out his communications tablet and sent a message to Coran to meet him at the ship. The pair walked together to the docking tower, and Alfor felt a sense of rightness settle into him with the boy at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! Only one paladin left! We should meet Blaytz and Lance new chapter right? RIGHT?!? 
> 
> Sorry, not quite yet... there's some stuff that needs to happen before we meet those two. I know you want to see our baby boi Lance, so to make the wait up to you, the next chapter will feature a reunion!


	5. They Need Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Alfor's allies gather on Altea to deliver their artifact pieces and await the return of Blaytz, but their adopted children are faced with an unexpected surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a bit longer. There's going to be one more brief chapter after this to give more background information, and then you'll get a nice long chapter with Lance and Blaytz. 
> 
> Please enjoy this sweet reunion!

_On Altea, one month after King Alfor’s return from his mission_

           

            Alfor watched Allura and Keith spar on the training desk of the castle. He had worried that Allura would be put out at the sudden appearance of a new sibling, but he had fretted for naught. The two children had taken to each other immediately. Watching them train, an outsider would have thought they’d spent their whole lives together rather than just thirty-five quintants.

            The two fought in perfect sync – Allura used an energy whip and Keith a sword. Both had small glowing shields and together they fought off drone after drone. Allura used her whip to bring down long-rang targets while Keith sliced through any that got too close.

            Longer-range drones appeared, too far away for Allura’s whip to reach. She and Keith exchanged a quick nod before Keith took off running. Allura was close on his heels, occasionally spinning to block an attack or bring down another drone with her whip.

            Once the long-range drones were within reach Keith leapt and sliced through one, two, three, and kept going until they were down while Allura protected him from behind. Alfor couldn’t help but be impressed at the agility and teamwork his children showed, and pride blossomed in his chest.

            It wasn’t just on the training deck where the two were in total sync either – he’d watched the duo scuttling around the castle, whispering to each other and laughing as they engaged in some mischief or another.

Allura was certainly the more practical, and Keith was an undeniable hothead, but they brought out the best in each other. Alfor had kept expecting for their relationship to drift after the initial novelty of having a new sibling wore off, but their bond had only gotten stronger.

            Alfor left the observation deck and walked down to the entrance of the training deck. The door slid open at his approach, and his two children turned to him with wide smiles.

            “Father!” Allura said happily. Some of her white hair had escaped from its bun and was plastered by sweat to her face. Keith was similar and both were panting but happy.

            “Father,” Keith said more shyly. Alfor didn’t even try to keep the fond smile off his face. He had made the offer to Keith to call him father once he’d finalized the formal adoption, but it had taken Keith many quintants before he managed to utter the words. He may have never brought himself to do it if Allura hadn’t been by his side constantly correcting him whenever he tried to refer to Alfor as ‘King Alfor,’ or anything except for ‘father.’

            “I am thoroughly impressed by both your skills. I am so proud watching your progress,” Alfor said. Keith had turned out to be a natural fighter, and Alfor had balked when the boy had told him all his skills were self-taught. He was easily able to keep up with Allura despite the fact that the Altean princess had been receiving formal combat training by some of Altea’s best warriors since childhood. He couldn’t help but feel that Keith was something of a prodigy. Both children would be starting flight training soon and Alfor was eager to see how they progressed.

            “Thank you father,” Allura said. A pleased blush rose on her dark cheeks. Keith just nodded his head and tried to play it cool, but Alfor noticed the darkening of his purple cheeks as well.

            “The both of you should get cleaned up now. My allies will be arriving in a few vargas.”

            “Really?” Allura said excitedly.

            “Yes, but not Blaytz, unfortunately, not yet.” Alfor felt regretful as his daughter’s face fell. Allura was fond of the blue skinned nalquodi, which didn’t surprise the king in the slightest. Blaytz had a way with people, he could grift himself into any society for any situation and people couldn’t help but like him. He also had a surprising way with children – he had a loud laugh and a naturally childish personality that always seemed to resonate with kids.

            “I see,” Allura replied.

            “But Emperor Zarkon will be bringing Lotor, and his adopted son.” Allura perked up again at Lotor’s name. Zarkon’s biological son was only a few deca-phoeb’s older than his daughter and they got along well. Alfor didn’t know much about the boy Zarkon had adopted except that he was around Allura’s age – Alfor was still just reeling from finding out that Zarkon had adopted a non-galra child in the first place, and it wasn’t just him.

Both Trigel and Gyrgan had mentioned adopting children on their missions. The Altean king knew that it couldn’t be a coincidence – something had likely drawn his allies to these children the same way he’d been drawn to Keith, but it still defied all explanation. He had to wonder if Blaytz would also be returning with an adopted child of his own but… given the planet Alfor had been forced to send him too, Alfor shuddered to think of a child living there.

            “He also adopted a son?” Keith asked. Alfor turned his gaze to the half-galra boy who seemed suddenly embarrassed at his curiosity. Alfor simply patted his shoulder.

            “It seems so – a boy Allura’s age. Gyrgan and Trigel will also be arriving with their adopted children. They will all remain here while we await the return of Blaytz. My hope is that all of you can train together,” Alfor said. Keith and Allura exchanged a glance with barely contained excitement. Keith had a tendency to brood and be silent, but he couldn’t hide the fact that he seemed to be looking forward to meeting the others.

            “We will go get ready at once,” Allura said. She grabbed Keith’s arm and practically dragged the younger boy from the room and towards the lift. Alfor laughed and strolled after them. Admittedly, he was also eager to meet the children that fate had brought into the lives of his allies.

 

\---

            Alfor stood on the command deck of the castle watching Keith and Allura whisper to each other. Well, Allura was doing most of the whispering. Keith was smiling and nodding, only occasionally adding something to the conversation.

            “King Alfor, Emperor Zarkon’s pod is approaching,” Coran said. Alfor nodded.

            “Clear him to land in the first hangar bay.”

            “Yes sir,” Coran said. Coran’s hands flew over the controls. Around a dobosh later, the doors to the command deck whooshed open to reveal the commanding form of the galran emperor. Zarkon always had a somewhat stern expression, but his face softened into a smile when he spotted his friend and ally, King Alfor.

            “Zarkon,” Alfor stepped forward with a smile and offered an arm. Zarkon grasped his forearm and clapped the altean king on the shoulder.

            “Alfor, I’m glad to see your mission went smoothly,” Zarkon said.

            “I am also happy to see you.” The two rulers released each other, and Alfor’s eyes slid to the two boys standing behind the emperor. Alfor couldn’t help the startled expression that lit his face when he laid eyes on Zarkon’s adopted son. He was tall, strong, with a nasty scar bisecting his nose bridge and a tuft of white hair that draped over his forehead, but that wasn’t the surprising part.

The boy was nearly identical to an Altean, he simply lacked the defining facial markings of Alfor’s people. There were many bipedal races that resembled Alteans, but he’d never seen a species so uncannily similar.

            “Alfor, of course you know my oldest son Lotor, but this is my recently adopted son, Shiro.”

            “It’s good to see you again, King Alfor,” Lotor said while inclining his head respectfully. The boy, Shiro, looked to Lotor for an example, then mimicked his actions.

            “I’m pleased to meet you, King Alfor,” Shiro said respectfully. Alfor smiled.

            “I am pleased to see you both. This is my daughter, Princess Allura, and my adopted son, Prince Keith.” Alfor was amused to see Keith become supremely uncomfortable at the title. The boy had known his adoption would come with the title, but he was not at all comfortable with it.

            Allura nudged the squirming half-galra with her elbow before turning a bright smile to the emperor and his sons.

            “Emperor Zarkon, we are happy to have you visiting Altea once again. Prince Lotor, Prince Shiro, Keith and I are quite excited to have new training partners at the castle.” Allura said with all the grace and propriety of an Altean princess. Keith nodded his head respectfully, but otherwise stayed silent.

            Alfor rolled his lips as he watched the two sets of siblings examine each other. A brief glance at Zarkon showed the emperor observing in much the same manner.

Shiro and Allura seemed to be exchanging shy glances, while Lotor and Keith looked to be sizing up a potential opponent. When Allura mentioned having new training partners, Lotor and Shiro had exchanged amused smiles before acquiescing to the princess’s subtle request.

            “King Alfor, Madame Trigel’s pod is approaching,” Coran said. His voice broke the children out of their examinations of each other, and Zarkon and Alfor exchanged amused glances before Alfor’s attention went back to Coran.

            “Clear her to land in the second hangar bay.” Coran once again tapped on the control deck.

While they waited for Trigel and her child to disembark and make it to the command deck, Lotor and Shiro gravitated closer to Allura and Keith. Allura was chatting quietly, and judging by her constant looks and gestures towards Keith, Alfor guessed she was regaling them with the tale Alfor had told her about how he’d met the boy.

            Not long after, the door of the command deck whooshed open and the tall, elegant form of Trigel appeared. She always carried herself with an air of command that Alfor admired.

            Before Alfor and Zarkon could offer greetings, there was a strangled sound from behind dalterionite and then a small green blur was sprinting across the empty space. Everyone stared in shocked silence as the child flung herself at Shiro. The older boy caught her, and his face was fluttering between shock and supreme joy.

            “Shiro! How are you here! I thought I’d never see you again,” the child babbled while still clinging onto him.

            “Pidge! You’re alright. Thank god. I was rescued by Emperor Zarkon,” Shiro said softly. He set the child back on their feet.

            “Pidge, is this one of the friends you lost?” Trigel asked, stepping closer to the pair. Pidge turned and nodded their head vigorously.

            “This is Shiro, he tried to stop the pirates when they boarded our ship. That’s how he got the scar on his face,” Pidge said. Trigel turned her attention to Shiro and smiled.

            “Pidge has told me all about you and your friends. She has talked about almost nothing except planning your rescue,” Trigel said. Shiro smiled.

            “Did you save her?” Shiro asked.

            “She did. Shiro she’s _amazing._ She knows so much, I’ve already learned a ton,” Pidge gushed. Alfor watched his ally duck her head shyly at the praise of her adopted child. It was rare to see Trigel lose control of her emotion and the sight brought a smile to Alfor’s face.

            “I’m happy you’re safe. Pidge, this is Emperor Zarkon. He rescued me and took me into his family,” Shiro gestured to the emperor, but Pidge was frozen as she stared at the biotic arm Shiro had just waved. Her face turned horrified as she looked up into her friend’s eyes.

            “What happened to you arm?” Pidge said in a near whisper. Shiro’s gaze snapped to his arm as if he’d forgotten about the metallic limb.

            “It’s alright, Pidge. An accident happened, but Emperor Zarkon and Empress Honerva gave me this replacement. It’s even better than the real thing.” The girl, Pidge, turned her gaze up to Emperor Zarkon.

            “Thank you for saving him,” she said softly. Zarkon, to Alfor’s surprise, smiled and placed a hand on the small girl’s shoulder.

            “I’ve heard much about your from Shiro. I am glad Trigel was able to find you,” the galra emperor said.

            “King Alfor, Lord Gyrgan’s pod is approaching.” Coran’s voice once again broke up the moment.

            “Clear him to land in the third hangar bay,” King Alfor said absently. He didn’t know the full story, but it sounded like Shiro and the girl, Pidge, had lost other friends. He thought about Gyrgan approaching, and suddenly it felt as if he knew who the rygnirathian’s son was.

            Zarkon and Trigel seemed to have had the same thought. They stepped towards Alfor and away from the chattering children.

            “There are two more missing,” Trigel said quietly. “Her brother, and their friend.”

            “One of them will be stepping through that door,” Zarkon said decisively. Alfor simply nodded, and watched the door. A few ticks later the doors opened to reveal the burly form of Gyrgan with an equally burly, but much younger alteanoid boy at his side. Alfor exchanged amused glances with the other two – it seemed as if the universal fates were bringing these children back together.

            “Alfor, Zarkon, Trigel!” Gyrgan boomed.

            “Hunk?” Shiro’s voice sounded from the right. The boy turned to the other group of children and his face lit up like a star.

            “Oh my god. How is this happening? Gyrgan did I accidentally eat more of those weird berry things? Am I hallucinating again?” the boy chattered. Trigel muffled a laugh with her hand – Gyrgan had a similar tendency to ramble when surprised.

            “Hunk it’s us, Pidge and Shiro,” Pidge said. Hunk darted forward with impressive speed and swooped up both Shiro and Pidge into a hug with enough strength to completely lift them off the ground.

            Both Pidge and Shiro let out ‘whuffs’ as the air was knocked out of them by strength of their friend’s hug.

            “Hunk, buddy, we can’t breath,” Shiro wheezed. Lord Gyrgan laughed and tromped over to envelop all three in a hug.

            “You two must be the friends Hunk has told me all about,” Gyrgan said. Alfor’s brow wrinkled as Pidge’s face started to look a bit purple, and while he didn’t know much about their species, he guessed it indicated a lack of air.

            “Gyrgan,” Trigel said smoothly before Alfor could open his mouth. “The children still need to breath.”

            Gyrgan laughed and release the three, but kept a hand on Hunk’s shoulder. He examined Pidge and Shiro and before giving an approving nod.

            “It seems that Gefith has a plan for you all and brought you to our sides for a reason,” Gyrgan said.

            “Gefith?” Pidge asked.

            “Gefith is the totally awesome god that Gyrgan and his people worship,” Hunk supplied helpfully. "But man, I'm so happy to see you all. I thought... I thought I'd never see you guys again. When I was left alone on that ship I thought that was the end for us. I'm just so glad we're all here together again."

           “We’re glad to see you to," Shiro said softly. 

           "I knew I’d find you guys. I knew it.” Pidge said. “And we’ll find Matt soon,” she added with absolute certainty.

            “Yes we will! Now.” Gyrgan turned to face his allies. “Alfor, what’s Blaytz’s status? Seems one of their friends is still missing and if Gefith is bringing them all back together then Blaytz may have the fourth.” Alfor winced at Gyrgan’s words when they made the faces of the three children light up. Obviously they didn’t know what type of planet Blaytz had been sent to.

Even if their friend was there, his conditions wouldn’t be happy ones. But Alfor also had his doubts. The stars had brought Keith to Alfor’s side and the half-galra boy had no ties to the trio. If Blaytz did return with a child, it may not be who they wanted.

            “Blaytz has the most difficult mission. He needed to infiltrate before retrieving the artifact and on that planet, it’s going to take some time.” Alfor very carefully didn’t mention anything about the planet or acknowledge Gyrgan’s words about the last missing child.

            “I’m sure Blaytz will have no trouble. He can blend in anywhere,” Trigel said.

            “Indeed. Now, Allura, Keith, why don’t the pair of you show the others around the castle? We’ll find you later when its time for supper,” Alfor said.

            “Yes, father,” Allura said. The kids swept out of the room, Hunk's loud voice trailing behind them as he began regaling the group with stories. When the door closed behind them, the four allies faced each other.

            “Gyrgan, it might not have been wise to give them such hope of Blaytz returning with Pidge’s brother,” Trigel said.

            “Those three kids have been to the afterworld and back, they need hope. If Blaytz doesn’t return with the brother then we’ll go out looking for him.”

            “I hope that Blaytz doesn’t find the child on that planet,” Zarkon said. The mood among the four leaders dropped. Alfor had been forced to send his friend and ally to one of the worst planets in the universe – it was a place of depravity and despair, a slave trading planet of the worst kind. They all shared Zarkon’s hope that Blaytz would not find a child on that planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, Lance. Where are you honey?


	6. I'm Sure Everything is Going to be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children discover the truth about the planet Alfor sent Blaytz to, and it's worse than they imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short chapter to give more details about the planet Blaytz is on. I thought about including it in the previous chapter, but since it switches POV's from the OG paladins to the kids, I decided to separate it. I also wanted to write some further interactions with the kids. The plot has been mainly focused on the OG paladins so I wanted to get them more screen time. 
> 
> Now that we know exactly how awful the planet is, in the next chapter we FINALLY get to see our Lance.

_In the castle common area, two weeks later_

“So I didn’t say anything earlier because we just met some of you and we were busy reuniting and stuff, but this has been bothering me and I need to talk about it,” Hunk said to the group of kids as they relaxed after a long session on the training deck.

            “Is something wrong?” Allura asked.

            “Well I mean, I’m pretty new to this alien stuff, but when we all first got here they all got really serious when talking about that Blaytz guy. I don’t think he’s exactly in a great place and I was wondering if any of you know where he went.”

            “I don’t know anything. Lotor, has your father mentioned anything to you?”

            The older boy shook his head. His shoulder length white hair had been pulled out of its bun and he scratched a hand through it with a sigh. “He’s been uncharacteristically secretive about his mission. I don’t even know why he was on that planet where he found Shiro. Did you see anything while you were there?” Lotor directed his question at Shiro, who just shook his head.

            “No. Once he got me out we left pretty quickly and he never told me why he was there.”

            “I overheard Trigel say a planet’s name, but she was really quiet and it was a weird name so I didn’t catch all of it,” Pidge said.

            “Overheard, or were you eavesdropping?” Shiro asked with a little smirk.

            “I might have been eavesdropping,” Pidge mumbled. There were some quiet laughs before they grew silent again.

            “Do you remember what the name was?” Keith asked.

            “Uh, Elk something. I only remembered that part because on earth we have an animal called an elk.”

            Lotor suddenly went ridged and sat up straighter. The other kids noticed his suddenly tension and shifted nervously.

            “Was the name Elkbrugidus?”

            “Yeah I think that might have been it.”

            “Do you know something about that planet?” Shiro asked. Lotor’s brows were creased as he nodded.

            “It’s a part of the slave belt.”

            “What’s that?” asked Keith. The half-galra boy had encountered a lot of society’s dregs being orphan on the streets, but he hadn’t heard of the planet or the slave belt. He glanced over at Shiro to see if the former gladiator knew it, but he looked as confused as everyone else.

            “Allura, can you take us to the holodeck?” Lotor asked. “It’ll be easier to show you all.”

            “I’m not supposed to use it by myself, but father is meeting with the others right now and Coran is with them. Let’s go.”

            The kids leapt to their feet and trailed behind Allura as she led them through the castle’s hallways. They couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at breaking the rules, and they all kept casting furtive glances around as they walked.

            When they got to the holodeck, Allura placed her hand on the scanner and the doors whooshed open. Once inside, Lotor walked to the control panel and activated it. A massive holographic display of their current solar system filled the dark room.

Lotor continued tapping at the console and suddenly the image shifted. The new system was far on the outskirts of the known universe. The display showed two stars relatively close together with a slew of planets in the center orbiting them, but only three looked to be in the habitable zone.

            “This is the slave belt,” Lotor indicated a trio of planets orbiting the larger star.

            “How far on the outskirts is this?” Hunk asked.

            “Far, and these three planets are the main hub of the slave trade for nearly the entire universe. These two planets,” Lotor indicated the closest, and farthest planet of the trio, “are where the actual sales of the slaves happen. The central planet is Elkbrugidus. Slaves that go to that planet never leave, they’re used as entertainment. Gladiator fights, public executions, pleasure – the dregs of the universe congregate there to expel whatever perverse desire they have. It’s the most awful place in the galaxy and nearly untouchable.”

            “That’s horrible,” Allura said. Her hand was pressed over her mouth as she stared with wide eyes at the hologram.

            “And this is where King Alfor sent his ally?” Shiro asked.

            “It seems so.”

            “It makes sense. Blaytz can blend in anywhere. My father says he’s the best grifter he’s ever seen but he’s also a deeply kind and caring man. For him to go to a place like that…” Allura trailed off.

            “I hope he doesn’t find my brother there.” Pidge sounded vaguely ill when she spoke. Shiro rushed to her side and put his hands on her shoulders.

            “Matt isn’t there Pidge.”

            “How do you know?”

            “I know. Trust your gut – when I met Zarkon and he asked me to go with him, it felt right. All I could focus on during my time on that planet was finding you and Matt and Hunk, and when Zarkon found me I just knew it deep down that if I went with him I’d find you all again. I’m sure it was the same with you and Trigel. And when Zarkon mentioned Altea, before I even knew we’d be coming here, I felt excited as if I was meant to go there. When I think of Matt and this planet, it doesn’t feel the same.”

            “I agree with Shiro. I kinda felt the same way and everything,” Hunk said.

            “I also trusted Alfor without really knowing why, although I think the answers I’m looking for are a little different,” Keith added, but his expression was still solemn.“But I don’t believe in coincidences. All of King Alfor’s allies have mysteriously adopted children from random planets scattered throughout the universe as they were on a mission to obtain an artifact that will help him complete his project with that comet. Allura told me that the material seems to have psychic properties. Even if Blaytz doesn’t find your brother on that planet, Pidge, it doesn’t mean he won’t find anybody.”

            “You think he’s going to rescue a child on that planet?” Lotor asked.

            “It would fit the pattern.” Allura’s voice was still quietly horrified when she spoke. “My father thought the scattered artifacts were random, and yet it brought you three together. I can’t help but feel that there is someone on that planet Blaytz is meant to save.”

            “I hope to Gefith that we’re wrong. This place sounds a thousand times more horrible than the planet Shiro was on, and he lost an arm there, a whole arm! How could a kid survive in a place like this?” Hunk gestured to the center planet.

            “We are all jumping to conclusions. I’m sure everything is going to be fine,” Shiro soothed.

            “Shiro’s right. I never should have told you all about this planet – there is no point in us fretting uselessly over something we can’t control. We all need to go get something to eat and rest,” Lotor said.

The group acquiesced to the words, but they all had stones of dread in the pits of their stomachs because somehow they knew Blaytz would be bringing someone back with him. They only wondered in what kind of shape the person would be in when they arrived. What they didn’t know is that their parents had had almost the exact same conversation, and that they felt the exact same worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably rip your heart out, sorry... 
> 
> Also, quick note, please keep in mind that there are NO non-con elements in this book. I alluded to how some of the slaves are used for pleasure on Elkbrugidus, but no characters in this story will be victims of sexual assault. Abuse, yes. Sexual assault, no.


	7. A Twinkle in his Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaytz is so close to getting off the awful planet he'd been sent to, but a shocking discovery makes it impossible for him to leave just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, time to see our blue boy. Sorry in advance. 
> 
> Also, please be aware that this chapter has content that some readers might find distressing, but there isn't any explicitly described violence.

_On Elkbrugidus, the central planet of the slave belt_

            Depravity. Blaytz was no stranger to it. Before he’d become a leader to his people, he’d traveled the universe, grifting himself into different societies and cultures. He’d traveled with pirates, vigilantes, freedom fighters, thieves, criminals. He’d stopped crimes and he’d committed crimes. But, out of everything Blaytz had seen, nothing compared to the horrific nature of Elkbrugidus.

He hated everything about the planet. He hated the people, he hated the name, he hated the too hot days and too cold nights. He hated the lack of large bodies of water.

            Blaytz knew that Alfor wouldn’t have sent him there if it wasn’t absolutely essential, and still the nalquodi had tried to refuse, until Alfor told him that the item he needed to retrieve would help Alfor create something powerful enough to destroy the slave belt and put an end to it’s stain on the galaxy. Only then had Blaytz grudgingly accepted the task.

            He’d been there for almost sixty quinents, and he felt the drain on quintessence. He smiled, he laughed, he ignored the brutality and pretended to enjoy it, and every day he felt like the light of his quintessence was fading.

Blaytz hadn’t been sure how much longer he could bear to stay on the planet, and he’d been so close to giving up and leaving empty handed when, finally, he was able to make contact with the alien who had Alfor’s artifact. So he sat at the bar amongst people he longed to run through with his scimitar, and he laughed. He smiled, he flirted, and he kept his face impassive when a slave was brutalized nearby.

            “Payment,” a voice hissed to his left. Blaytz turned, his face unconcerned and vaguely bored.

            “Well hey there. Not to be rude by you’re not quite my type. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the adventurous type and your eyes are quite pretty, but those spines look mighty painful,” Blaytz said to the spiked, reptilian creature that had sidled to his side. Blaytz had to fight himself not to step farther away from it – he had a reputation to maintain, so instead his gave the alien a flirtatious wink. It hissed in response.

            “I don’t have time for games. Payment,” it demanded. Blaytz grinned and let out a long suffering sigh.

            “Alright, I guess this doesn’t have to be fun.” Blaytz reached into his jacket and pulled out a small vile. He slid it over to the creature who snatched it up in a clawed hand.

Blaytz wasn’t familiar with the alien’s species, but it looked particularly gleeful. The blue nalquodi had no idea why it wanted Altean blood, Alfor didn’t know either, but it was a fairly easy price to pay.

            “Now, give me what I want so we can both be on our way. If you’re thinking about skipping out, just know my blade is very sharp and that vile is very delicate.”

            It hissed again. “Here.” It chucked a satchel at Blaytz, who caught it with ease and let a lazy grin slip onto his face.

            “Ah, there, nothing like a good honest trade. How about you stay and we celebrate. Get enough alcohol in me and I might be willing to brave the spines,” Blaytz said. The alien just hissed at him and slunk through the crowd.

Blaytz shrugged, but internally he wanted nothing more than to run to the landing pads and leave the planet, but he was still deep into enemy territory. He had to continue the act for a little longer, so he ordered drinks for the whole bar and was met with raucous cheers.

Blaytz drank a little too quickly when another slave was brought out for the patrons to brutalize. He didn’t think he could bear to witness any more cruelty, so while everyone focused on their horrific show, Blaytz slipped from the bar.

            He kept his steps slow and unhurried. He smiled, laughed, waved, nodded appreciatively when an acquaintance showed off a new slave, but his mind could focus on nothing except getting off the planet and washing its filth from his skin.

            He almost made it, almost, but then something caught his eye. Early on Blaytz had perfected the art of appearing as if he was admiring the slaves kept in cages along every street and road, while not actually seeing any of it. He had to ignore them to keep his sanity, but something pulled his attention with an urgency he couldn’t explain.

            Blaytz slowed, and his gaze focused on a tiny figure huddle in a cage next to a shop. It was so small and horror welled in Blaytz’s chest.

The head of the figure rose slowly and two eyes that were the same deep blue of his ocean back home stared straight at him. For a moment the blue man’s thoughts ground to a halt. He couldn’t figure out what to process first: the boy’s youth, his starved and broken little form, the sad and beautiful blue eyes, the dark bruises marring his dark skin, or the altean markings on his face.

            “Depths,” Blaytz cursed quietly. The boy was altean. It didn’t make any sense. Altean children were too fiercely protected to just go missing. If an altean child was captured by slavers, Alfor would likely rally his whole planet to war. Children were sacred to alteans, so what was this boy who couldn’t have been more than twelve deca-phoeb’s old doing on the worst planet in the universe, locked in a cage?

            Blaytz’s eyes swept left, and right, and when he found the street deserted he jog-stepped over to the boy’s cage. The boy tried to scoot farther away, but he was already pressed as tightly as possible into the bars.

            “Don’t be afraid,” Blaytz whispered. “I’m an ally of King Alfor of Altea.” The boy’s eyes got impossibly wide and he surged forward to grip the bars in front of Blaytz.

            “You know my uncle?” he whispered. Blaytz thought both of his hearts were going to stop in his chest.

Uncle. The boy had called Alfor his uncle. It made no sense. Alfor’s nephew wouldn’t be abandoned on this forsaken planet. There was something missing, something Blaytz didn’t know, and his earlier desire to leave the planet vanished. He needed to get the boy out no matter what.

            “Yes,” Blaytz responded, choosing not to question the boy about his parentage at that time. “Where is your jailer?”

            “In the shop. I think he’s asleep,” the boy whispered. Voices sounded nearby, and they were getting closer. Blaytz’s head snapped in that direction, before turning back to the boy.

            “I’m going to get you out of here, but I need time. Wait one quintent for me. I’ll be back, I promise you that.”

            “You’re really going to help me?”

            “Of course. I’m Blaytz of Nalquod, and I never go back on my word,” Blaytz said in a grand whisper. His feigned confidence felt weak and forced, but it made the boy’s face light up and he nodded vigorously.

            “Okay. The name’s Lance,” the altean boy said with a wink. Blaytz smiled genuinely as he caught a little glimpse of what the boy’s true personality was.

            “I’ll be back Lance,” Blaytz said just as the owners of the voices turned the corner into sight. Blaytz turned away from Lance and began strolling leisurely, but his mind was working furiously. If he tried to free a slave the whole planet would be up in arms and he’d never make it off the planet. He needed a distraction, a big one. He didn’t care what it took, he was getting the boy out of that cage.

 ---

            A quintent and a half later, far longer than Blaytz had wanted to wait, his plan was ready to go. He hadn’t risked going back to check on Lance, and just had to trust the boy was okay while he set everything up.

            The blue nalquodi strolled down a street that ran perpendicular to the street where Lance was kept, still affecting his unconcerned air. He watched the position of the sun and counted silently and tried hard not to fiddle with the small metal device in his hand.

            Thirty-seven. Thirty-six. Thirty-five. Blaytz kept counting the ticks, his heart rate growing fast as the numbers diminished.

            “One,” Blaytz whispered. He pressed his thumb to the pressure sensor on the top of the instrument. He heard nothing for a few ticks, and then the shouting started. It began growing louder and louder until it became riotous. The sound got closer, and then the street was flooded with escaped slaves.

It hadn’t been easy for Blaytz to plant small explosives on the locks of so many of the cages that lined the streets.

It had been even more difficult to plant them on the much larger holding pens.

It had been nearly impossible to plant them on the cages that held the gladiators, but Blaytz liked a challenge.

At the activation of his device, all the charges went off simultaneously, and suddenly hundreds of slaves were freed. They wouldn’t win, they wouldn’t escape the planet, and many would probably die, but Blaytz knew they would rather die fighting the depraved inhabitants on this planet than die as entertainment for them.

            When the riot began overtaking everything, Blaytz broke his façade and sprinted to the street where Lance had been. He spotted the cage and grew excited, until he noticed the boy laying inside unmoving. He skidded to the stop in front of the door that had been blown open, and the boy didn’t moved. Dread, sadness, and horror threatened to overtake him as he saw how many new injuries the boy had accumulated in barely more than a quintent.

            Blaytz reached into the cage and pulled the boy into his arms. He leaned down so his ear was near the boys mouth, and sighed when he heard the weak breaths. The boy was broken, but still alive.

            Knowing that there was no time to waste, Blaytz began running. He stuck to alleyways and side streets to avoid as much of the riots as possible, and by some miracle made it to his ship without being accosted.

He shifted the terrifyingly light boy in his arms so he could press his hand to the biometric scanner at his ship’s door, then ran inside.

His ship was small and had no medical bay, but it had a small bunk on which he gently lay the boy. Once he was in orbit and had his course set, he’d attend the injuries, but he had to get them off the planet first.

            The universal fates must have been smiling on him, because the ship made it into orbit, and then into a slipstream, without incident. He set the coordinate into the ship, then launched himself back into the sleeping quarters where the boy was.

            Blaytz shut down his emotions as he examined the boy. Most of his fingers were broken, it looked like one of his legs was broken, he had ugly bruises marring almost every inch of skin, and his left eye was swollen shut and an ugly shade of purple. He guessed the cheekbone was also broken.

            Nalquodi had very unique bodies that allowed them to heal at greatly accelerated rates when exposed to water. Because of that, Blaytz was pitifully lacking in any medical knowledge. He knew the boy needed help, but he didn’t have the knowledge to do anything except stop the bleeding on his open wounds and clean him up.

            Blaytz closed and rubbed his eyes, momentarily feeling useless and angry at himself for his lack of knowledge.

            A loud, shuddering breath had his eyes snapping open. He leaned forward just as Lance’s one eye opened and glanced around in terror and confusion. He tried to sit up, but pain made him cry out and go limp on the bed.

            “Lance, don’t move. It’s me, Blaytz. Do you remember me? You’re on my ship.”

            “Blaytz of Nalquod. You really got me out,” the boy rasped.

            “I did. We are going to Altea now. We’re going to get you help.”

            “Thank you. Thank you.” Lance kept repeating those words until Blaytz gently stroked his matted hair.

            “It’s alright, you don’t have to keep thanking me, but how did this happen? Why did this happen?” Blaytz said, his voice strained and oddly gruff as he tried to hold back his emotions.

            “I liked to taunt him. He had a temper. He got mad every time he didn’t make a sale he wanted. Mocking him was fun, even when he hurt me. It made him mad that he couldn’t make me stop mocking him. Yesterday I was happy because I was going to be free and I pushed him too far,” Lance murmured, but there was a twinkle in his eye. Blaytz couldn’t help but smile and the boy’s resilience and attitude. Blaytz would probably do the same thing if he were ever held prisoner.

            “You did good, Lance, and when we get to altea they have amazing healing pods that will fix you up.”

            Lance attempted a smile with his swollen and bloodied lips, but suddenly his good eye went wide and his body seized in a cough. He writhed in pain, and blood spattered from his mouth.

Blaytz’s eyes went wide and and his swiftly pulled up the boy’s sad excuse of a shirt to look at his torso. Horror made Blaytz’s chest tight as he saw the uncharacteristically dark bruise covering his whole left side, and the lumpy area where the ribs were obviously broken.

            Lance passed out and blood dribbled from his mouth. Blaytz frantically checked his pulse, and when he found the weak pounding he ran back to the pilot’s seat. He sent an urgent message request to Altea.

            It only took a few ticks for Coran and Alfor’s face to pop up on the display, and behind them were Trigel, Zarkon, and Gyrgan.

            “Blaytz, were relieved to hear from you,” Alfor said.

            “Alfor there’s no time, can you open a wormhole for me? I need to get to Altea now,” Blaytz said frantically. Alfor’s face pinched in concern.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “I can’t explain right now, there’s no time. I need a wormhole and I need you to prep a healing pod.”

            “For me to open a wormhole you need to leave the slipstream and stay in one location so I can lock onto you.”

            “There’s no time!” Blaytz said.

            “I know, Blaytz, but I can’t lock onto you in a slipstream. Once you stop moving it won’t take me very long.”

            Blaytz let out a frustrated yell and hoped his ally would realize he wasn’t angry with him, he was angry at his own uselessness.

            “I’m leaving the slipstream now. When I stop moving I’ll transmit my coordinates.”

            “We’ll be ready.”

            “Hurry Alfor, please,” Blaytz said. He tried not to think about how desperate he must have sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray plot twist! Alfor better hurry his ass up opening that wormhole.


	8. Seven Deca-Phoeb's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaytz gets Lance into a healing pod, then demands answers from Alfor. 
> 
> The kids visit Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty chapter here. There will be a really sweet moment next chapter though.

_Altea_

            The group of kids made their way to the command deck. As much as they had tried, they couldn’t make themselves stop thinking about what they’d discovered about the planet Blaytz was one. They wanted answers from their parents, or at the very least reassurances that everything was fine.

            When Allura activated the door to the command deck, it opened to reveal King Alfor standing with his hands on the castle control pillars and Coran frantically pressing buttons on the command panel.

            Zarkon’s head turned as the group of kids walked into the room. Trigel and Gyrgan noticed a moment later, and the kids noticed the looks of worry on their faces.

            “You all shouldn’t be here.”

            “What’s wrong,” Lotor asked. He stepped to the front of the group and his demeanor shifted into the serious galra prince he was. Before they could respond, Coran’s worried voice rang out.

            “Coordinates received. Inputting them now.” Coran’s voice trailed off as his hands flew over the controls. “Open the wormhole now!” he shouted. The pillars Alfor’s hands rested on glowed a brilliant white and Allura gasped as she realized her father was opening a wormhole. Something must have been seriously wrong for him to do something that required such an extreme amount of energy.

            “The ship is through, close it,” Coran said. The glow of the pillars faded, and they watched on the view screen as a small ship landed right outside the castle instead of in a hangar bay.

            “Coran, go prep the healing pod,” King Alfor commanded. Coran nodded and sprinted from the room. The kids huddled off to the side while their parents rushed to the door of the command deck just in time for it to open.

            On the other side stood Blaytz’s tall figure, and in his arms…

Allura gasped and Keith wrapped an arm around her as they took in the small, broken figure the blue alien carried. Pidge’s eyes were impossibly wide, and both Hunk and Shiro stepped close to her and put hands on her shoulders. It wasn't her brother, but that didn't keep her from being horrified at the child's state.

            “Follow me,” Alfor said. He walked quickly from the room with a shellshocked looking Blaytz following behind, trailed by the other three. The kids followed after, not knowing what else to do. They all half-ran down the hallways and straight into the medical bay.

            “Put him here,” Coran said, indicating a sterile metal table. “I need to prep him for the pod.”

            “There isn’t time, he’s bleeding internally.”

            “Blaytz, trust me, the pod is ready but I can’t just throw him in there,” Coran said.

            “He’s DYING!” Blaytz said.

            “Blaytz,” Coran’s voice was firm, but gentle. “Look at his leg. Look at his fingers. If I put him in the pod like this, the bones will heal in those positions. He will either be crippled, or we’d have to re-break each bone when he came out, set them, then put him back in. I know what I’m doing, let me help him.”

Blaytz let out a frustrated sound but carefully laid the boy on the table. His head lolled to the side and blood fell from his parted lips. Allura let out a horrified sound when she noticed the facial markings. The boy was altean, and the image of his broken form was burned into the minds of all six kids. There were so many injuries that their eyes were having trouble comprehending what they were seeing.

            At Allura’s exclamation, Alfor turned to glance at the group of pale, wide-eyed children. He turned to Gyrgan, his face grim.

            “Get them out of here, please,” Alfor said. Gyrgan nodded and began herding the kids out the door. The last thing they saw was Coran swiftly discarding the tattered garments that served as the boy’s clothes, and the horrible bruises that marred his torso. Then the doors whooshed closed and they stared at it in stunned silence, their young minds still trying to process what they’d just seen.

            A moment later they heard a weak scream when the boy’s bones were set. Lotor and Shiro ushered them away quickly after that, but they couldn’t get that haunting scream out of their heads.

 

\----

 

            When night fell, the kids tried to sleep, but the image of the boy was burned into their minds and they saw him whenever their eyes closed. Somehow all of them found themselves in the common area, and they just sat on the sofas in silence, each staring off at nothing in particular.

            “We should go see him,” Hunk said finally. All eyes turned to him.

            “What?” Keith said.

            “He’s in that pod, all alone. I know he won’t like, know we’re there but maybe if we can, I don’t know, send good vibes his way.”

            “I’m not sure what good vibes are, but I feel like you’re right. It feels wrong to be sitting here,” Allura said. They all nodded and stood, and together the pack of them made their way towards the medical bay, but stopped when they heard voices.

            “Blaytz, I know you’re worried but we need to know what happened now,” Alfor’s voice sounded.

            “That’s interesting.” Blaytz’s voice sounded cold. “I was hoping you would tell me, Alfor.”

            “What do you mean?” Trigel’s voice added. She sounded confused.

            “You’re his uncle, aren’t you Alfor? Shouldn’t you know why a child of your blood was living in a cage on that star forsaken planet,” Blaytz spat. Color drained from Allura’s face at the words, and Keith quickly covered her mouth to muffle the distressed sound she made.

            “How--” Alfor whispered.

            “I mentioned your name,” Blaytz interrupted. “And he said you were his uncle. Explain that to me Alfor. Explain to me why your nephew was enslaved on that planet and you weren’t starting a war to get him back.”

            “I didn’t know. I thought he was dead,” Alfor’s voice was choked with emotion.

            “Alfor, we need to know what’s going on,” Zarkon said.

            “My brother, my younger brother, left Altea when he was only seventeen deca-phoeb’s old. He was… not very strong willed. He wasn’t interested in politics or diplomacy. He ran away with a woman, and commoner, and abdicated his title and responsibilities, and renounced his royal ties.

            “When I became king I tracked him down, and had my spies follow him so I could be aware of his movements. Twelve deca-phoeb’s ago my spies reported that he’d had a child. I tried to contact him and try to get him to bring the child back to Altea but my efforts were fruitless. Five deca-phoeb’s later their ship was attacked by pirates. The reports said there were no survivors – I didn’t even think to keep looking.”

            “Seven deca-phoeb’s,” Blaytz said quietly. “He was enduring slavery and abuse for seven deca-phoeb’s. He grew up being tortured, and all you can say is that you didn’t think to look more carefully into the deaths of your kin?”

            “Blaytz, this isn’t Alfor’s fault.” Gyrgan tried to mediate.

            “He lived in a cage, Gyrgan! On the street. The slaver who kept him locked up there used him as an outlet for his anger for seven deca-phoeb’s! Do you have any idea what they do to slaves on that planet? Do you know how they torture them? I know because I spent over sixty quintets there, for you, and I had to smile and laugh while I watched! He had to endure that for seven deca-phoeb’s! He had to watch what happened to the other slaves and wonder if that would happen to him. He spent every quintant wondering how they would hurt him next. He was five when he was taken there, Alfor. Five!” Blaytz was yelling now.

            Allura and Lotor exchanged wide-eyed glances. They’d both known Blaytz since they were only babies. He was the most laid-back of the allies: funny, easygoing, kind, if a bit ridiculous at times. They’d never heard Blaytz get angry at anything, not like this. He sounded angry, and hurt, and horrified. Each of the six children were horrified as well. They were so young, and Blaytz’s words tore through their innocence like a knife.

            “Blaytz, I share your anger, we all do. The slave belt is a blight on the universe, but remember why you were there. With all the pieces of the artifact, Alfor can complete his project. We can bring peace to the universe, and dismantle the galactic slave trade. You were on that planet for a reason – we were all on our respective planets for a reason.” Zarkon’s deep voice sounded.

            “You’ve never been the type to have faith in the universal fates, Zarkon,” Trigel said. “What’s changed?”

            “The comet has changed everything. Honerva’s research has revealed things we never could have imagined. After what I’ve seen of the data from the rift on Daibazaal, I’m willing to believe that we were meant to find those children. Blaytz, you were meant to find this boy. Direct your anger where it belongs.”

            A long pause followed Zarkon’s word until finally, Blaytz sighed.

            “Coran, how long will Lance be in the pod?” The nalquodi sounded defeated.

            “His injuries are extensive. The pod estimates about three quintants.”

            “You should rest, Blaytz. We should all rest. We can discuss more in the morning,” Alfor said, but his voice belied the calm words. He sounded hoarse, his words choked out. Allura realized her father was crying. She hadn’t know her father could cry.

            “What about Allura and Keith, and the other children? They saw the boy. Will we tell them the truth? Alfor, will you tell them he’s your nephew?”

            “Yes. Eventually. Allura is still my heir, and Keith as my adopted child is still behind her in the line of succession. Lance’s arrival won’t change that.”

            Trigel sighed in exasperation. “I’m don’t care about Altea’s line of succession. I care about their emotional wellbeing. It will be difficult for Allura especially to know that her cousin was enslaved for so long. She’s an impressively strong girl, but we all know how much family means to her. This will crush her.”

            “Everything’s going to be alright. Those kids have all been through terrible things, and they will help each other heal. They’ll help Lance heal, and we’ll all be there to support them,” Gyrgan said.

            “Well, that’s it then, let’s go. You all need to rest. No more serious talking for tonight,” Coran chirped.

            The kids immediately sprinted back down the corridor and around the corner before the door to the healing bay opened. The sound of footsteps went off in the opposite direction, and they didn’t move until it was completely silent. On an unspoken agreement, they went back to the healing bay and walked across the sterile expanse to the one active pod.

            “He’s so young,” Shiro murmured.

            “He was a slave,” Allura whispered in horror. Keith’s arm went back around her shoulder, but her eyes were locked on battered face of the young altean boy.

            “They were all slaves.” Lotor gestured to the three humans.

            “Not like this,” Pidge said. “The weirdo who had me never actually hurt me, just threatened me.”

            “I mean the pirates just kinda ignored me,” Hunk said.

            “I was only a gladiator for a couple months, and I’m much older. He was a slave for seven years, or deca-phoeb’s I guess.”

            “He was only five when he was taken. A baby. He probably has almost no memories outside of that cage.” Allura’s voice was taking on a hysterical edge. Keith stepped in front of her to block her view of the injured boy in the pod.

            “Allura, he’s here now. He’s never going back there.”

            “Look at him! Why didn’t my father look for him? He should have looked for him.”

            “Your father’s spies told him that Lance was dead. This isn’t your father’s fault,” Lotor said.

            “He should have grown up on Altea. He should have been raised with all the love I was.”

            “We can’t change the past,” Shiro said softly. “I can’t get my arm back, I can’t erase the scar on my face. Pidge, Hunk, and I can’t get our parents back, and we can’t change what happened to Lance. We have to move forward. We can help him move forward to.”

            “But…”

            “Allura, he’s safe now. We’ve seen him now, Coran said he’s healing. I think we all need to go back to our rooms and sleep,” Keith said. Shiro and Lotor nodded in agreement.

            “He shouldn’t be alone,” the princess whispered.

            “He’s asleep. We’ll be here when he wakes up,” Lotor said. Allura closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath, before nodding.

            “Yes. We should go,” she said. The kids began filing out. Keith hesitated a moment and stared up at the boy, trying to see the beautiful face beneath the bruises. His heart gave a painful thump and he felt a lump of sadness grow in his throat making it hard to swallow. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to talk to the boy, to hear his voice and his laugh. 

            The half-galra finally turned away from the pod before tears could spill, and then saw Lotor waiting for him a short distance away. For a moment the two half-galra shared a moment of sadness for Lance’s suffering and the childhood that had been stolen from him. Then they turned and followed the others from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Lance.


	9. You Can Learn That Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance comes out of the healing pod, and quickly becomes overwhelmed by his new surroundings. 
> 
> Blaytz gives Lance a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for some fluff?!? I meant there's a lot of angst that comes first, but the fluff is there. 
> 
> Last thing, I friggin love you guys and your comments. You all make me so happy and I'm really happy you are enjoying the story. I know it's starting out slow and ya'll are thirsty for the klance (trust me, I am to), but bear with me because you will be getting some pretty sweet klance and more World's Best Dad Blaytz, in the near future.

          The three days that passed were tense and silent. Blaytz spent the majority of his time in the medical bay, and when he wasn’t there, Alfor was. The kids snuck in at night for a little while. They would talk there, in front of Lance’s pod. They would share stories with each other, teach each other about their different cultures, sometimes they would even laugh and smile. There were these small parts of them that thought maybe Lance would hear them, that maybe he’d know he was surrounded by new friends. They hoped he didn’t feel alone.

            When Coran announced that it was time for Lance to leave the pod, Alfor and the others tried to keep the kids out. They argued that they didn’t want to overwhelm the boy. Allura hadn’t taken well to that. Somehow, they’d all bonded with the sleeping boy despite not having met him properly.

            “We will not leave, father,” Allura said. Her tone wasn’t one of a petulant child. She spoke with the firm assurance of a princess. Alfor sighed and looked at Blaytz, who nodded.

            “They should be here, but he will probably need space. Don’t crowd him or overwhelm him.” Everyone nodded their affirmative. They stepped back so Blaytz, Alfor, and Coran were the only ones immediately near the pod.

            Coran spoke softly. “Before I bring him out you need to know that the healing pod can’t fix everything. He will still be malnourished and very weak. I doubt his cage allowed for much movement, which means his muscles probably never developed properly as he grew. He may not be able to walk well, or for very long. The same applies to his speech and…intelligence. I doubt he received schooling after capture so…”

            “We understand, Coran,” Alfor said.

            “Alright, I’m bringing him out now,” Coran announced. His pressed some buttons on the pod’s control panel. There was a faint hissing as the temperature within the pod rose, and then the door popped open.

            Blaytz caught Lance before he could fall to the floor, but he was limp in the blue alien’s arms.

            “Coran?” Blaytz questioned.

            “Give him a moment.”

            After a tense moment, a soft groan escaped from the altean boy’s mouth and he shifted in Blaytz’s arms. The blue alien set him gently on his feet, but kept his hands on Lance’s shoulders for support.

            Finally, Lance’s blue eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Blaytz, then at the huge circular room they stood in.

            “How— am I alive?”

            “You’re alive. You’re on Altea,” Blaytz said.

            “You really saved me? I thought maybe I was dreaming. I had dreams like that a lot, but I’d always wake up back there.” In the silence that followed, the hearts of everyone in the room collectively broke.

            “This isn’t a dream Lance. You’re here. You’re safe. This is King Alfor, your uncle.” Blaytz gestured to the altean king at his side. Lance turned wide eyes to the white haired man.

            “My dad told me about you,” Lance said. Alfor smiled gently and reached out to pat the boy’s shoulder, but Lance flinched back, hard. Hard enough to jerk out of Blaytz’s grasp and stumble. He would have fallen had the blue nalquodi not caught him. He had no negative reaction to Blaytz’s touch. He actually clung to the large man more closely, but his eyes stayed fixed on Alfor, wide and panicked.

            “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.” His stuttering voice seemed close to tears. Alfor’s eyes were wide and he took a step back while bringing his hands up in a placating gesture.

            “It’s alright Lance, I’m not going to hurt you. No one in this room is going to hurt you. No one will ever hurt you again.” Despite the king’s words, Lance’s trembling got worse and his breath was too fast.

“I’m sorry. This place is so big. Why’s it so big? It’s so bright. I’m really sorry. I can’t…” Lance babbled. Blaytz hugged him more closely but it didn’t help.

Coran immediately stepped in.

            “He’s going into a panicked state. It’s a common result of years of abuse. We need to get him somewhere quiet and small. He lived most his life on a ship, and in a cage. He will likely be afraid of large, open spaces,” the advisor murmured. Blaytz nodded and swept Lance up into his arms. The boy clung to him, shivering violently enough that his teeth chattered while his chest heaved with too fast breaths.

            “This way,” Coran said. Blaytz followed the red haired advisor out of the room, followed closely by Alfor and the other three allies.

            “He’ll be okay,” Trigel said to the kids before leaving. “He will need time to get used to being free again.”

            “We want to talk to him,” Allura said. The princess was trying hard to maintain her composure, but Trigel noticed her too-wide eyes and trembling hands.

            “You will,” the dalterionite soothed. “Just be patient with him.” Trigel left quickly as soon as the words were said. All five of the allies knew they would need to attend to the emotional needs of their own children soon, and they would, as soon as the altean boy was settled.

 

\---

  

            Coran led Blaytz to one of the smaller rooms in the castle, in the wing where the rest of the children stayed. Lance’s breathing was still too fast and panicky, and he had started crying, but his shaking lessened the moment they entered the smaller room and Coran dimmed the lights.

            Zarkon, Gyrgan, and Trigel stood near the door, in the shadows. Blaytz lowered the boy gently so he was sitting on the bed, then knelt in front of him so they were at eye level.

            “Lance, I need you to match my breathing, alright?” he grabbed Lance’s hand and put it to his own chest. He inhaled and exhaled deeply with exaggerated breaths.

            “Inhale with me,” Blaytz said. Lance stared at him with wide, panicked eyes, but he nodded. When Blaytz breathed in, Lance did as well. The blue alien kept his eyes locked with Lance’s and together they kept breathing and the boy’s trembling finally eased.

            “I’m sorry. It was just…” Lance began.

            “This is a lot for you to take in. We understand. You don’t have to push yourself. No one here will ever hurt you. Everyone here is working to make the universe a peaceful place.”

            Lance finally seemed to notice the other people in the room. His eyes jumped from Alfor, to Coran, then to Zarkon, Trigel, and Gyrgan standing by the door.

            “These are my close friends, and allies, Lance. Coran there is my royal advisor.” Alfor gestured to the others.

            “I am Madame Trigel, of the Dalterion Belt.”

            “I am Lord Gyrgan of Rygnirath.”

            “I am Emperor Zarkon of the Galra Empire.”

            “And I’m Blaytz. I am the leader of my people on Nalquod but I’ve never much liked titles,” Blaytz said with a little wink and Lance. The boy gave a hesitant smile.

            “I’ve heard of all of you. Sometimes I would hear…” he paused and swallowed thickly. “I would hear my owner talking. No one on Elkbrugidus liked you.”

            “Your slaver, Lance,” Blaytz said softly. “Not your owner. No one owns you.”

            Lance nodded. “What do I do now?” he asked.

            “What do you mean?” Alfor asked.

            “I… I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what people do when they’re free.”

            “They sleep. They eat a lot. They do whatever they want to do, and you can take as much time as you need figuring out what you like to do.”

            “But for now we should start with food!” Gyrgan chimed in. Lance’s eyes seemed to light up at the mention of food.

            “Are you hungry?” Alfor asked. Lance nodded vigorously which earned him a laugh from Gyrgan.

            “Well that’s good because my people make the best food in the universe. I’ll grab Hunk and we’ll create a grand meal and have it here in no time.” Gyrgan turned and left the room without another word.

            “We should go check on our children as well,” Trigel murmured. Zarkon nodded. They both left.

            “King Alfor, I think we should go see Allura and Keith. The princess was pretty shaken by this whole thing,” Coran said. The king looked at his advisor, and then at Blaytz. The nalquodi nodded his head.

            “We’ll be back soon, Lance.” Alfor and Coran left the room, leaving Blaytz and Lance alone.

            “I’m sorry Lance. I know this is a lot for you right now.”

            “It’s so different.” His voice was a distant whisper.

            “I know, but everyone here is good. They are truly good. You are never going back to that place.”

            “But I…” Lance ran a trembling hand through his long hair. They hadn’t had time to bath him before getting him into the pod, so he was still dirty and his hair was long and matted. “I’m going to be different. I don’t know very much. I didn’t get any schooling after I was taken.”

            “You don’t need to worry about that. You’ll learn. Why don’t you go bathe? It will feel good. I will get you some new clothes. Hunk and Gyrgan should be finished cooking by then.”

            “Who is Hunk?” Lance asked.

            “Did you see the other children in the medical bay when you woke up?”

            “Mhm.”

            “They are the children of my allies, who you just met. Hunk is your age – he’s Gyrgan’s adopted son.”

            “He looks altean.”

            “Apparently he’s from a planet on the edge of the universe called Earth. He is here with his two friends, Shiro and Pidge, the adopted children of Zarkon and Trigel respectively.”

            “They were all adopted?”

            “Well no, Zarkon also has his born son, Lotor. King Alfor has two children, his born daughter Allura, and his adopted son Keith.”

            “Is Keith also human?”

            “Maybe,” Blaytz shrugged. “He’s half-galra, but even he doesn’t know what species his father was. He’s also your age. Lotor is in the oldest – he’s seventeen deca-phoeb’s I believe. Shiro and Allura are fifteen deca-phoeb’s. Pidge is ten deca-phoeb’s. You’ll meet them all later.”

            “Oh…but—”

            “They’re really eager to meet you,” Blaytz cut him off. “They have all had rough pasts. I think you’ll all get along well. Do you feel strong enough to bathe on your own?”

            “I’ll be okay.”

            “If you need me,” Blaytz stood and walked to a little device next to the door. “This is a castle wide comm. Just press the button and I’ll be able to hear you.”

            “You want me to announce to the whole castle when I need help?” Lance asked. There was a mirthful little sparkle in his eyes, the same sparkle he’d had when the boy revealed how he liked to taunt his slaver.

            Blaytz laughed. “It’s not ideal, but I’ll get you a comm unit soon. Come, I’ll show you how to use the bath before I go get you some clothes.”

            Lance nodded and stood up, but his legs wobbled beneath him. Blaytz caught his arm and waited for the boy to steady before leading him to the bathroom. He explained how all the different nozzles worked, pointed out the washing soaps, then left the boy to it.

 

 ---

 

            For a long time Lance just stood in the bathroom. He looked up, around, examined each bottle of washing liquid, then finally followed Blaytz’s instructions to turn on water. He watched the spray jet out. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a proper shower. No—he did remember. It was so hazy, so much that it felt like trying to remember a dream.

            It was on his parents’ ship, he was little, his mom was using the hair washing soap to style his brown locks in funny ways. He remembered her laugh, and how he’d been giggling, but he couldn’t remember her face. He couldn’t remember his dad’s face either. He couldn’t remember much about them at all anymore.

Those memories were fading so quickly from his mind, but he remembered nearly every day of life in that cage. Every beating. Every tear he’d shed. His baths while being a slave were nothing more than his owner pointing a water hose at him in the cage and spraying him until he was dripping and shivering and didn’t smell anymore.

            Lance shook his head, violently, before peeling off the tight white healing pod suit. He stepped under the spray of water and nearly sobbed with how wonderful the warm water felt.

He stayed under there for a long time. He scrubbed his hair many times until the washing soaps finally loosened the knots and mats in his hair. He scrubbed his body hard enough to leave welts, as if he could scrub away the scars marring his dark skin.

            When he finally felt clean, or as clean as he could feel, he filled up the tub how Blaytz had showed him and submerged in the water. He did cry then. The water felt so… comforting. It felt like he belonged in the water.

            Blaytz came back while he was crying, and knelt by the tub after setting the clothes a short distance away.

            “I really like the water,” Lance choked out.

            Blaytz smiled. “I do to. My people are aquatic, and my planet has massive oceans. There is land, and we spend a large part of our lives there, but the water is our true home.”

            “That sounds amazing. I want to go there.”

            “You can. How about you come back there with me? I could be your new family, if you want. We can live peacefully on Nalquod. It’s one of the safest planets there is.”

            “But I can’t live underwater like you can.”

            “You can Lance.” Blaytz’s eyes were sparkling. “Alteans are shapeshifters. You may have been too young to remember your parents telling you that. You can grow gills if you want, or webbing between your fingers. If you want to be blue like me, you can.”

            “Really?” the boy said. He could hardly contain his excitement.

            “Yes. It may take some practice, but Nalquod could be your home. Unless you’d rather stay on Altea with your true family.”

            “I don’t know how to be altean. I don’t…” Lance looked down and dejected embarrassment caused his cheeks to darken. “I don’t even know how to read.”

            “You can learn all of that. We can learn together.”

            Lance nodded, and then a small smile appeared on his face and he made a sound between a laugh and a sob. Blaytz cocked his head to the side.

            “What are you laughing at?”

            “Your people mostly live in the water, and I just remembered that I don’t know how to swim.” Lance’s eyes flicked up to meet Blaytz’s own, and his shy smile grew a little wider. Blaytz laughed, then Lance laughed, and then they were both laughing softly together.

            Blaytz reached forward and cupped his hand to the back of Lance’s neck, then pressed his forehead to the side of the boy’s head and closed his eyes. Lance leaned into the affectionate touch, startled and overwhelmed by how comforting it felt. Seven deca-phoeb’s without comfort. Without care. Without love or affection. He'd forgotten what touch felt like when it wasn't accompanied by pain.

            “That’s alright. You can learn that too. I think you’ll be a natural,” Blaytz said. Lance was still crying, but he was also still softly laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLAYTZ IS THE BEST. I LOVE HIM.
> 
> Anyways, ya'll ready for Lance to meet the other kids? I sure am! And who knows, there may even be a sweet klance moment coming up next. ;)
> 
> And you'll get a lot more of Blaytz being the best thing ever. This may sound vain considering I'm the one writing him, but I adore Blaytz and think he's the best.


	10. This Is Real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance finds the courage to eat together with everyone.
> 
> Keith provides some unexpected comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised you a Klance moment, and here it is (with a healthy dose of langst thrown in for good measure). 
> 
> And at risk of being redundant, I have to say again that your comments give me life. I'm thrilled that you are all loving this story. Keep em coming!

 

            “Are you sure you want to go to the dining room to eat? It’s okay if you’d rather stay in your room.”

            “I don’t want to hide,” Lance said firmly.

            “It’s not hiding.” Blaytz’s voice was soft. “You’ve only been awake for a few vargas and this transition isn’t going to be easy for you. You can take your time.”

            Lance was sitting on his bed wrapped in a large, fluffy towel that seemed to swallow his entire little body. His long brown hair was hanging in wet strings around his angular face, and despite the fact that he was frighteningly thin, he looked like a completely different child after the bath.

            “I…” Lance looked down at his lap, took a deep breath, then looked back up to meet Blaytz’s eyes. “I don’t know the rights words to say but… a lot of time was already taken away from me. I don’t want my ow—“ Lance stopped himself before he could say the word ‘owner.’ “I don’t want my slaver to take any more time away from me.”

            Lance’s ocean blue eyes took on a glistening sheen and a few small tears left wet tracks down his face. Blaytz reached forward and cupped the boys face. He used his thumbs to wipe away the wet trails, then soothingly ran them over the markings at the corner of Lance’s eyes. The altean boy closed his eyes and sighed into the touch. The trembling that had started stilled.

Blaytz was grateful that the affection-starved boy wasn’t afraid of his touch – the nalquodi wanted to give him all the love and care he should have grown up with and his people were naturally very affectionate. Skinship was a huge part of the culture on nalquod. Communication under water was difficult so they used touch to convey so much.

            “He’ll never take anything from you again. You can do anything you want to do and I will help you whenever you need.”

            “I’m really happy you found me.”

            “I’m happy I found you too. Now, if you really want to eat with everyone else in the dining room then you should get dressed.” Blaytz stood up and walked back into the bathroom where he’d left the clothes. They were altean, and therefore too damn complicated for Blaytz’s liking, but after some laughing from them both, and muffled swearing from Blaytz, they managed to figure out how all the pieces of clothes were supposed to go on.

            When they were done, Blaytz took the towel and threw it over Lance’s head and scrubbed the giggling boy’s wet hair to get out the moisture.

            After he brushed out the tangles he’d made in Lance’s hair, he took a step back and smiled at the transformed child. The tight-fitting altean top was mostly blue in the center with white accents. It brought out the startling blue color of his eyes and markings. The pants were white and tucked into soft blue boots.

            As Lance’s hair started to dry, Blaytz finally realized that his hair was actually a little curly and the long strands began to fluff up and curl around his angular face. The blue alien couldn’t help but feel that the boy looked somewhat ethereal – waifish and delicate, as if he would scatter and disappear in a strong wind.

            “I’ve never worn clothes like this,” Lance said. He looked down at himself, and kept twisting and turning to examine the outfit.

            “Nor have I, and I’m not planning on it. Too complicated.” Lance nodded in agreement, but kept examining the clothes. Blaytz laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. Lance looked up.

            “Are you ready?” Blaytz asked. Lance nodded and together they walked out of the room.

 

\---

 

            “Do you think he’s doing alright?” Allura asked Keith nervously. They had filtered into the dining room a little early with the other kids. Hunk had joined them a little later saying that the food was almost done, there were just a couple dishes waiting to come out of the oven.

            “I’m sure he is,” Keith soothed.

            “Hunk do you think I can go with you when you take him some food?” she asked the human boy sitting across from her.

            “I mean I’m totally cool with it but I think Blaytz or Gyrgan, or king Alfor… or someone will have to tell us if it’s okay.”

            “I need to see him. He is my cousin, I want to know him.”

            “You will, princess,” Shiro said softly. “When I first got to Daibazaal I had a difficult time. I was nervous and afraid around people, but it got easier as everything became more familiar. It will get easier for Lance to.”

            “Shiro’s right,” Lotor said. “The galra have rescued slaves before. Those that were captives for a long time found it difficult to adjust to a free life. It’s overwhelming for them, but they get better.”

            The doors of the dining room whooshed open and interrupted the conversation. Alfor strode in with Trigel and Zarkon, closely followed by Coran. The allies had all already spoken with their children, providing comfort and reassurances but not saying much about how Lance was actually doing.

            “Have you heard anything from Blaytz?” Allura asked immediately.

            “He’s still with Lance, but don’t worry, Lance will be okay.”

            “I think I should help deliver some food to him. I am his family and he might find that comforting,” the princess said.

            “I think that’s a good idea. Lance would probably be happy to meet you, all of you, and learn that he has friends here,” Alfor said.

            “Just be careful not to touch him unless he says it’s okay,” Coran added. “He’s going to be afraid of people, and touching him carelessly could trigger another panic attack.”

            There were murmurs of agreement from the kids, but they felt excited. They wanted nothing more than to finally meet Lance.

            When the doors whooshed open again, they expected to see Blaytz, but they didn’t expect to see Lance at his side. Everyone went completely silent as they took in the sight of the altean boy. He looked nearly unrecognizable from the matted and terrified boy who had come out of the healing pod. Keith thought that now he looked like an angel.

            “Lance, we didn’t expect to see you here. How are you?” Alfor said, but he was careful not to make any sudden gestures or get closer to the boy.

            “I’m better,” Lance said shyly.

            Allura took a hesitant step forward but then stopped, unsure if it was alright to get closer to her cousin. Lance’s gaze flicked to her, and then Keith behind her, and his eyes got a little wider. Blaytz noticed and gently prodded him forward so he was standing closer to Allura.

            “This is my daughter, Allura, and my son Keith,” Alfor said, walking around to stand behind his children.

            “You’re both so beautiful,” Lance said in awe. Blaytz muffled a laugh and Alfor rolled his lips to hide a smile as both children flushed and shifted in embarrassment.

            “So are you,” Keith blurted before quickly clapping a hand over his mouth. It was Lance’s turn to blush. He looked up to Blaytz a little frantically, silently asking what he was supposed to do. Luckily Allura was able to regain her composure a little more quickly than her brother.

            “Thank you, Lance. You are looking very well, I’m happy to finally meet you,” she said. Blaytz exchanged an amused glance with Alfor before directing Lance’s attention to the other kids who had gathered a short distance behind Keith and Allura.

            “Lance, this is Lotor and Shiro, Zarkon’s sons,” Blaytz gestured to the two older boys. The look Lance gave them was a little different, almost awed. The two did strike a cutting figure – they held themselves like warriors and carried themselves like princes.

            “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lance,” Shiro said with a smile that softened his rather stern features.

            “We are glad to see you well,” Lotor added.

            “Thank you,” Lance said quietly.

            “This is my daughter, Pidge,” Trigel said. Her elegant form cut forward to stand next to her child.

            “I’m really happy you got off of that horrible planet,” the youngest said bluntly. Trigel nudged Pidge gently, but to everyone’s surprise Lance just smiled shyly.

            “So am I,” he replied.

            “And that’s Hunk!” Gyrgan’s loud voice boomed from the far doorway as he emerged from the kitchen. He marched up and clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Best cook there is, besides me.”    

            “Well I don’t think I’m the best, but food makes people happy, and cooking makes me happy, so I like that what makes me happy makes other people happy to,” Hunk said.

            “I’m glad I get to try your food,” Lance said. Hunk grinned and silence fell. Lance’s eyes flicked from face to face, and he suddenly tensed when he realized everyone was focused on him. He shifted a little closer to Blaytz. The blue alien noticed and looked over to Gyrgan who gave a small nod.

            “Let’s all sit down! The should be just about ready!” Gyrgan clapped his hands, which cause Lance to jump.

            Everyone acquiesced and took their places around the table. Gyrgan and Hunk began setting dishes on the table, saying something about how the meal was about family and it wouldn’t be the same for servants to do the serving.

            Once the food was out, quiet talking began around the table, much to Lance’s relief. He wasn’t comfortable being the focus of so much attention. Although everyone’s eyes did keep sliding to him – it was like they needed constant reassurance that he was there and he was alright.

           Blaytz began putting small amounts of everything onto Lance’s plate. Neither he, nor the boy himself, knew what kind of food Lance would like.

           “I don’t know what any of this is,” Lance whispered to Blaytz.

           “I don’t either, actually. All of these dishes are rygnirathian and have impossible names,” Blaytz responded with a little grin. Lance hid a smile behind his hand and the two shared a soft laugh. When Lance looked back up, everyone’s heads surreptitiously turned away and they pretended to have been watching the sweet little exchange between the altean boy and the blue nalquodi at his side.

          “Let’s eat!” Gyrgan boomed, and clapped his hands. Lance didn’t flinch as hard this time. His eyes slid to Blaytz, and when the blue alien picked up his spoon, so did Lance. He watched Blaytz take a bite, then followed suit.

         The moment the food hit Lance’s tongue, his eyes blue wide and he just stared down at the plate. He chewed, swallowed, then took a bite of something else.

         For reasons he couldn’t explain, his chest grew tight and halfway through his meal silent tears began falling down his face. It didn’t stop him from eating, and it took a moment for everyone to realize he was crying.

         “Lance! Are you alright?” Allura said in alarm. Lance’s head jerked up to see everyone staring at him in concern.

         “Yes,” Lance nodded his head, then looked back down at his plate. “I’ve just never tasted food like this before. I didn’t know food _could_ taste like this. It’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever eaten.”

         In the silence that followed, everyone struggled to think of something to say. Lance shrunk into himself a little, wondering if he’d said something wrong, until Keith’s voice sounded.

         “I was the same,” the half-galra said quietly. “I spent most my life living by myself on the streets and I just ate whatever I could scrounge up. I knew that other people ate nicer food, but until I came here I didn’t understand just how different it actually was. It was really overwhelming because I thought that this must have been what food tasted like when you had a home.” Keith’s eyes flicked up, and his yellow ones stared straight into the blue depths of Lance’s.

         For a few moments the two boys just stared at each other, sharing a moment of understanding, before Lance’s face split into a beatific grin. Fresh tears slipped out of his eyes, but Keith couldn’t help but think that the smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

        “Yeah. It tastes like home,” Lance said. With that, the spell of silence that had enveloped the table was broken.

        “As it should!” Gyrgan said. “Rygirath can be a home to you, we’d love to have you join our feasts sometime! Altea can also be your home, Nalquod, the Dalterion belt, Daibazaal, no matter where you are you will have a home with us.”

       “Always,” came the gravely voice of Zarkon who had been mostly silent since the boy had appeared. The massive galra smiled at Lance, and everyone went back to their meals.

 

\---

            After the dinner was done, Blaytz and Lance walked slowly back to his room. At the doorway, the nalquodi stopped and turned to the child he planned to adopt.

            “I need to go and speak with my allies. Will you be alright on your own? Would you like me to come back here after I’m finished?”

            “No that’s okay. I feel really tired. Is it alright if I go to sleep?”

            “Of course it is. You don’t need to ask permission for something like that. While we were at dinner I had some servants deliver clothes to you so you should find sleeping garments and other things in your room. I’ll have a comm tablet for you tomorrow, but remember to use the comm panel in your room if you need me.”

            “I will,” Lance said. Blaytz smiled and stroked some of Lance’s wavy hair back from his face.

            “You did really well today, Lance. You are so strong.”

            “Thank you,” said Lance with flushing cheeks.

            Blaytz walked off and Lance stepped into the room… his room. His room. He had a room. Lance took in the sleeping space. He had never had a room, or a bed. At least, not one he remembered well.

            He walked to the bed and sank into the softness but suddenly didn’t feel as tired, but he didn’t know what to do. It was the first time he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, but he couldn’t think of what that meant.

           Lance had no concept of freedom. Even before the slavers had taken him, he’d just been a child, which mean that his parents had dictated most his actions. Then he was a slave, kept in a cage, and couldn’t even dream of freedom. He didn’t even know what to dream of. He’d never learned what freedom meant. All he knew was the bars of that cage, or the floor of his owner’s shop that he would curl up on when receiving a beating.

           Without Blaytz there, telling him what to do or how to do things, Lance felt lost. He just didn’t know what to do and he was frustrated that he didn’t know.

           And the room was so quiet. He’d never felt quiet like that. His cage had been outside, on the street, and Elkbrugidus was a planet that never slept. There was always noise: yelling, screaming, laughing, cheering, pleading, crying, begging, taunting. It was the horrible din that permeated the air of that place non-stop. Now it was quiet, so quiet that Lance could hear the blood rushing through his ears.

          He wanted to be alright. He wanted to prove to Blaytz he was strong. He wanted to understand, but he didn’t even know yet what he was supposed to understand.

          Lance felt too hot, but oddly cold. His chest felt tight, and he couldn’t take a full breath of air. The room around him suddenly seemed to press down on him. The silence was choking him.

          Lance stumbled up from where he was sitting on the bed and wobbled towards the door. It was hard to breath – he needed to do something.

          The hallway outside his door was empty, and quiet. Everything was quiet. Everything was so big and quiet.

          Lance stumbled down the hallway, his breaths were coming in short gasps. Why was there no one around? Why was he alone in the too large hallways?

          His steps sped up. He needed to find someone. He needed to make sure there was someone else there. What if he was dreaming? What if this was another dream? Everyone was gone, the castle was quiet. Was it his brain waking him up? Would he wake up back in the cage? This was all a dream, it had all been a dream. His uncle hadn’t found him like his dad had promised. He was still in the cage and he was waking up.

         His breaths were coming faster and he started seeing spots in front of his eyes. He brought his hands up to scrub them, and his fingers came away wet. When had he started crying?

         “Don’t wake up. Don’t wake up.” Lance sobbed the words.

          When a door to Lance’s right whooshed open, he jumped and turned to see Keith standing there. The half-galra took in Lance’s shuddering, sobbing form and went rigid.

         “Keith,” Lance sobbed. “I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to go back there.” He stumbled closer to the other boy, reaching out his hands, and Keith moved without thinking. He immediately stepped forward and wrapped the frightfully thin boy in a hug.

         “You’re not asleep Lance. This is real. You aren’t going back there.”

         “Where is everyone? Why is no one here? It’s so big and quiet. I think I’m waking up.” Lance clung onto the half-galra boy with all the strength his weak body could muster. Keith tightened his hold.

         “I’m here, Lance. This is really me. I’m here with you and no one will ever put you in a cage again. You aren’t alone. You won’t ever be alone again.”

          Lance was still sobbing into Keith’s shoulder. The half-galra didn’t know what to do. He was all the way down at the training deck, he didn’t know how or why the altean boy had made it all the way there, and he wasn’t willing to leave Lance’s side to go find Blaytz, and he’d stupidly left his comm tablet in his room.

         “I don’t want to wake up,” Lance said again.

         “Lance, come with me. There’s something you should see,” Keith murmured. It took a moment, but Lance finally drew back to look at Keith with wide, panicked eyes.

         “Where?” he asked hoarsely.

          “This way.” Keith took Lance’s hand and led him through the hallways. The altean boy clung to him like a lifeline, afraid that if he let go he’d wake up from his imagined dream.

          Finally Keith came to an outer door and pressed his hand to the panel. It opened and a rush of sweet smelling evening air rushed in. Lance stiffened, but allowed Keith to gently tug him outside. There was just enough light left in the day to illuminate the landscape and the endless expanse of juniberry fields that stretch behind the castle.

          “Oh,” Lance sighed. Keith pulled him farther out, down some steps, until they were standing amongst the juniberries.

          “Have you ever seen something like this before?” Keith asked. Lance shook his head but didn’t take his eyes away from the expanse of flowers.

          “Then how could this be a dream, Lance? How could your mind invent something like this if you’ve never seen it before?” Keith said softly. Lance finally turned and looked at the other boy’s face.

          “I’m really awake?” he asked. Keith had never been affectionate, and he was not used to giving or receiving affection, but he couldn’t help but pull Lance into another hug. Lance’s arms immediately went around him and he buried his face into the crook of Keith’s neck.

          “You’re really awake. This is all real. You are safe Lance,” Keith murmured into Lance’s curly brown locks.

          They stayed like that for a long time. Keith didn’t try to move away, and when Lance’s knees seemed to give out, he lowered them both to sit amongst the flowers. They stayed pressed together for a long time until Lance’s breathing finally calmed down, and his body relaxed. He fell asleep like that, and Keith didn’t move until Blaytz found them a couple vargas later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, our poor blue boy needs some serious care. 
> 
> Next chapter, Alfor is going to have some explaining to do. Let's hope he does it right. ;)


	11. You Weren't Even Looking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith seeks out a friend to try and understand more about Lance. 
> 
> Alfor and Lance have a talk that doesn't go how the king plans. 
> 
> Blaytz confides some suspicions to Zarkon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omgosh, a lot happens in this chapter. But we finally get answers about why Alfor didn't look for Lance, hooray!
> 
> Unfortunately this chapter is focused a lot on other characters, but it's important for the plot and establishing relationships and stuff. Just bear with me cause next chapter will be focused more on Lancey-Lance again. 
> 
> Also, a time jump is going to be coming soon (probably not next chapter, but the one after that). For us to get into the real Klance stuff, everyone needs to grow up a little and also we need to finally get to the point where Alfor finishes making Voltron. Once they are a bit older there will be a whole heck of a lot more Klance moments (I'm so excited to write them). 
> 
> Okay last thing, I busted this chapter out pretty quickly (and it was randomly kinda difficult for me to write) so there will probably be typos, but it's already evening on my side of the world and I want to post this before I go to sleep. I'll do another read through tomorrow and fix any typos I see. 
> 
> That's it! Enjoy this slightly convoluted chapter!

\---

 

            Blaytz gently picked up Lance from where he had sunk onto Keith’s lap. In his sleep, the altean boy tried feebly to hold on to the other boy, by Keith gently unwound his fingers from his shirt.

            The nalquodi motioned his head back towards the castle, signaling for Keith to follow them, then walked back inside. They wound through the hallways until they finally stopped at Lance’s room. Keith activated the doors and the pair stepped inside.

            Blaytz set Lance down on the bed and pulled the blankets up, and not once did the exhausted child stir.

            Once he was situated, Blaytz turned to the door and motioned Keith out with him, but neither spoke until the doors closed.

            “Can you tell me what happened?” Blaytz asked softly.

            “I don’t really know. I was on the training deck, but when I left to go back to my room Lance was just there in the hallway. He was panicked and crying. He kept saying that he didn’t want to wake up, and that there was no one in the castle, and that he didn’t want to go back to that planet. He thought all of this had been a dream and that he was going to wake up back in the cage. Even after I hugged him and talked to him, he didn’t believe it was real.” Keith ran a shaking hand through his hair, and it was obvious to Blaytz that the boy was shaken by the incident.

            “So you took him outside?”

            “I figured he’d never seen the juniberry fields before if he lived all his life either in space or on that planet. So I thought I should show him something that he’d never seen before so he’d believe it was real. I know I should have tried to find you instead, but I didn’t have my comm tablet and I didn’t know where you were and I just… I didn’t know what to do. He was just so scared.”

            Blaytz saw that the half-galra himself seemed close to tears, so he stepped closer and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. When Keith looked up at him, the nalquodi smiled.

            “You did well, Keith. You did exactly the right thing. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have left him alone, but he’d done so well at dinner and when he told me he would be alright I didn’t question it. I’m glad you found him and were able to comfort him.”

            “Is he really going to be alright? I’ve never seen someone scared like that.”

            “He’s going to be fine. He has a lot to learn, but he’s strong. You should go get some rest now.”

            Keith nodded and began to walk off, feeling a little numb, but he paused and turned back to the nalquodi.

            “Are you going to stay with him? I don’t want him to wake up alone,” he said. Blaytz nodded.

            “I’m going to stay here, don’t worry.”

            Keith nodded again and walked away. He heard the door to Lance room open and close as Blaytz walked inside. The half-galra knew he should rest, but he couldn’t get Lance out of his head. He’d been so panicked, and Keith just wanted to understand what happened and why, so he went to the only person he could think of who might know what Lance was feeling.

            Keith stood in front of Shiro’s door for a few ticks, debating whether or not to knock. It was already evening and the older boy may have already been asleep, and Keith didn’t know him exceedingly well, but he needed to try and understand Lance.

            Finally Keith knocked, and it only took a few ticks for the door to whoosh open. Shiro seemed surprise to see him standing there.

            “Keith, is everything alright?”

            “Uhm, can I… can we talk?” the younger boy asked.

            “Of course, come in.” Shiro stepped aside so that Keith could enter. When the door closed, Shiro looked at Keith with concern.

            “Are you okay? You looked shaken up?”

            “Something happened, with Lance,” Keith started. He then launched into the story, telling Shiro every detail of what had happened. When he was done, Shiro put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

            “You did well Keith. It sounds like you really helped him.”

            “I know I just… I want to understand what happened, and you’re the only one who has experienced anything even remotely similar.”

            Shiro sighed and went to sit on the bed. He motioned for Keith to sit down to, and when the younger boy complied, Shiro’s gaze fixed blankly to the far wall.

            “I was a gladiator for a few months, and that was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever gone through. No one cared that I was just a kid – I was a rare alien and a good fighter, and they didn’t care what sort of brutalities I was subjected to in the arena.” Shiro’s eyes seemed to glaze over, and Keith figured his brain was wandering back to that awful time.

            “When Zarkon found me, I also thought I was dreaming. I’d heard a lot of talk about the fierce and just emperor of the Galra, and I figured that my mind had conjured him up while I slept to comfort me. After all, who wouldn’t want to be rescued by one of the most famous leaders in the galaxy?

            “I figured out pretty quickly that it was real, but it was hard adjusting to a new life on Daibazaal. I was afraid of people, I would jump at every loud sound, and everything seemed like a threat. I wasn’t a gladiator for long, but it’s hard to overcome those instincts you develop when you have to regularly fight for your life. On top of all of that, I also suddenly had to learn how to live in a new culture. I was adopted into a family that accepted and cared for me, but lived a life so vastly different than the one I’d had before I was a gladiator. I was the emperor’s new son, I had to learn their customs and adopt their way of life. The strict social classes in galra society were particularly difficult for me to accept.

            “Even now, after more than a month, I’m still learning, and I’m still struggling to get past the horrible things that happened to me as a gladiator. I have nightmares, I’m still jumpy, a lot of things make me anxious, and I’m overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to learn to be able to live this new life. The point of me telling you all of this is that I only had to endure the life of a slave and gladiator for around… I think in your time keeping system it would be ninety quintants, and it’s been extremely difficult for me to adjust. Lance endured his abuse for seven deca-phoeb’s. I grew up with a loving family, and I knew what freedom was and I had something to hope for – finding my friends. Lance grew up without any love or knowledge of what freedom means and nothing to look forward to, and he’s so much younger than I am. Now he’s safe but he probably doesn’t understand freedom. He has to learn who he his, and he has to learn how to live amongst other people. He has to learn how to act and everything else that comes with society.

          “I wish I had some magical knowledge that would help him, but the only thing that can really help him is time, care, and acceptance. What you did, comforting him, helping him realize that he wasn’t dreaming, was already the best thing you could have done. We aren’t going to be able to stop him from having panic attacks, but we can help him through them.”

         Keith didn’t have an immediate response to Shiro’s words. Both boys stared blankly at the wall across from them, and the half-galra couldn’t help but think about how Shiro seemed so much older than his fifteen deca-phoeb’s. He was strong, and wise, and admiration and respect for the human boy blossomed in Keith’s chest.

         “I wish there was something more I could do to help Lance but I might be able to help you… I didn’t grow up on Daibazaal with the other galra, but I know everything about their society. My mom taught me everything I needed to know before she left me. Before you go back to Daibazaal, I can help you learn about galra culture, if you want. Zarkon and Lotor are usually really busy, so I can help you when they can’t.”

         Shiro turned a soft smile towards the younger boy at his side. He patted Keith’s shoulder and couple times.

         “Thank you, Keith. That would help a lot. I know you do a lot of training on your own on the training deck after our group sessions have finished. If you want, I can train with you if the group sessions aren’t enough.”

         Keith’s drooping ears perked up and he turned to Shiro with a smiled.

         “Really?”

         “Yeah,” Shiro laughed. “Training is sometimes the only thing that takes my mind off of…everything. I wouldn’t mind doing more with you.”

         “I would really like that. Thank you.”

         “Good, then after our group training tomorrow we can start. You should head to bed now, it’s getting late.”

         “Alright. Thank you Shiro for talking to me and telling me your story,” Keith said.

         “I know you want to help, and I admire that. Just keep supporting Lance however you think is best. And if you ever need someone to confide in, you can come to me. Even when I go back to Daibazaal you can call me if you need.”

         The pair said their goodbyes, and Keith walked out of the room feeling much better than he had before.

 

\---

 

            The next morning, Alfor showed up at Lance’s room not long after he had woken up. Blaytz had been there when his eyes opened, and Lance knew without having to ask that the nalquodi was aware of what had happened the previous night. Lance felt somewhat embarrassed, but he also felt an echo of the fear that had permeated his body the night before.

            Blaytz had apologized for leaving him alone, and they spent a few dobash quietly talking about what had caused Lance to panic the night before. Lance didn’t know for sure, nothing that had happened had been rational, but he tried to explain as well as he could.

            “It didn’t really make sense,” Lance finally finished. “I just suddenly thought that it had all been fake. That my uncle hadn’t really found me like my dad promised.”

            Blaytz had gone tense at that statement. He realized that Lance didn’t know that finding him on Elkbrugidus had been a complete coincidence. Alfor hadn’t been searching for him in any way.

            So when Alfor showed up, Blaytz couldn’t help but feel angry. Lance’s father had apparently had enough faith in Alfor to tell his son to trust in his uncle to find him, and Alfor had let both father and son down.

            However, before Blaytz started an argument with the altean king, he thought about how wrong that was. The Aflor he’d first known would have ripped the galaxy apart looking for the people who murdered his family, even if he thought they were all dead. But even that seemed odd that he’d believe the words of his spies so completely that he wouldn’t look into the incident any further. It was all so out of character for the king.

            “I’d like to speak with Lance alone, if that’s alright,” Alfor said to Blaytz. The nalquodi wanted to argue, but there was someone he needed to talk to.

            “Is that alright with you, Lance?” Blaytz asked the boy. Lance shifted nervously, but nodded.

            “Yes.”

           Before Blaytz left, he stepped closet to the king. “Just, don’t leave him alone. Contact me when you are done speaking and I’ll come back. There was an incident last night and it’s better if he’s not left by himself. I’ll tell you about what happened later,” Blaytz murmured to the king. He hadn’t had time to fill in his other allies on what had happened, only Coran knew something was wrong because Blaytz had gone to him to check to security feeds to find Lance.

            Alfor just nodded and stepped into the room while Blaytz stepped out. The blue alien took off down the hall in search of someone – he needed to discuss his suspicions.

\---

 

            Lance was nervous being alone with the altean king. It was his first time talking to the monarch without anyone else around, and even though they were family, Lance couldn’t make himself relax.

            “How are you, Lance?” King Alfor said. He sat down in a chair near the door, so Lance hesitantly sat on his bed. He clasped his hands in his lap and began wringing them together. He wished Blaytz was there. Blaytz was the only one who he was comfortable with…and Keith, after the previous night.

            “I’m well, thank you,” he responded automatically.

            “Did something happen after dinner last night?” Alfor’s words were gentle, but they cut right through the young boy and made his dark cheeks flush with embarrassment. Lance hung his head forward and his long hair fell to obscure his face a little.

            “I…I had a hard time being alone, but Keith helped me,” Lance murmured.

            Alfor’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Keith did?”

            “Yes. He comforted me.”

            “I’m pleased to hear that. Keith has been somewhat closed off since coming to Altea – it’s hard for him to trust people. I’m glad to hear you two had a bonding moment.”

            “He was very kind,” Lance said, but he was wondering what the purpose of this conversation was. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d done something wrong and King Alfor needed to discuss it with him.

            “That’s good. And what about Blaytz? You two seem quite close.”

            “He… he reminds me of my dad. Dad never got mad at me for anything when I was little, even when I did something wrong. Mamma would sometimes get angry, but dad was very kind and funny. I don’t remember them much anymore though. I don’t even remember their faces,” Lance finished with a whisper.

            “I have photos, of your father, if you would like to see them. They were taken when he was quite young, before he ran from Altea, but you may still find them comforting.”

            Lance finally raised his head at that, and he felt a cautious hope. He desperately wanted to remember the faces of his parents.

            “I would like that.”

            “Then I’ll have Coran find them soon.”

            “My dad always told me you were kind. He said you were different than my grandfather. He said grandfather was…not a nice person. I don’t remember much, but he said that’s why he left Altea. I remember, before we were attacked, he asked me if I wanted to go live on Altea and I was really excited because he told me lots of stories about you and Altea and how beautiful it was.”

            “Even though Allor was much younger than me, we were very close. I missed him dearly when he left.”

            “He missed you too I think.”

            “When I heard of the attack on your ship, it was devastating. I knew Allor had had a child, and I’d wanted to meet you so badly, and then my spies reported that there were no survivors of the attack. I thought you were lost to me, but the universal fates led Blaytz to finding you on that planet and I’m eternally grateful.”

            Lance’s vision tunneled down at Alfor’s world and for a moment he didn’t say anything as his confused mind pieced together the king’s words.

            “You thought I was dead?” he finally asked.

            “Yes.”

            “So you weren’t looking for me at all? I thought…but I thought you sent Blaytz there to find me?”

            “Lance,” Alfor said softly. “I sent Blaytz to Elkbrugidus to retrieve an artifact for me. I had no idea you were there.”

            Lance stood up suddenly. “But my dad said you would look for me. Right before they killed him, he told me that I should never lose hope because you would do everything in your power to find me and take me home to Altea.”

            Alfor stood up slowly, and he realized that he’d revealed something that would have been better kept as a secret.

            “I’m sorry Lance, I truly had no idea you were alive.”

            “But… that’s what pirates do though! They attack ships, they kill the adults, and then they take the children to sell along with all the ship parts. Everyone knows that, even me because the pirates talked about it after they took me. And they talked about it on Elkbrugidus all the time, but you didn’t look for me. Did you even try to look for the pirates that killed dad and mamma? Dad said you would.”

            “I wish I had—“ Alfor started to say.

            “When I was in the cage it helped me stay strong to think that you were looking for me. Whenever my owner hurt me it was okay because I thought about how my uncle was a king and he was going to find me. It’s the only thing I had to look forward to. But you weren’t even looking. Blaytz found me on accident,” Lance was crying now.

            “Yes but he did find you. You’re safe now.”

            “Dad trusted you to find me,” Lance cried. He was angry and devastated. For seven deca-phoeb's he’d only had one hope. Slaves didn’t escape Elkbrugidus, not ever. The ones that tried were publicly tortured and killed and all the other slaves had to watch. Lance’s only hope, the only thing that kept his young mind from completely breaking down, was his dad’s words telling him that his uncle would find him no matter what. Now Lance had to accept that his uncle hadn’t been looking at all. If Blaytz hadn’t seen him by chance and decided to save him, Lance would have been there, in that cage, for the rest of his life.

            “Lance I’m so sorry.” Alfor stepped forward, wanting to try and comfort the boy, but Lance stepped to the side and then rushed for the door. He took off running down the hall and ignored Alfor calling his name from behind. He didn’t want to see his uncle anymore.

 

\---

 

            After Blaytz left Lance’s room, he sought out Zarkon. There was something that had been bothering him since the moment Alfor had mentioned not looking into the deaths of his family. It was so out of character for his friend, and it made him uneasy.

            He found Zarkon in a meeting room. He was sifting through data on a holographic display, but looked up when Blaytz entered.

            “Blaytz, is everything alright?” Zarkon asked. Blaytz sighed and ran a hand over the smooth crown of his head.

            “Zarkon, you confided in me some time ago that the quintessence from the rift on Daibazaal seemed to be changing Honerva in ways you didn’t understand. Is it still happening?”

            Zarkon dismissed the display and stood up. He paced a few steps away before turning to look back at Blaytz. He looked worried.

            “It is. She’s colder and detached. She’s still my wife, she’s still the woman I love, and she still loves me, but she’s not the same as when we first met all those years ago.”

            “How long ago did you start to notice she was changing?”

            “Around thirteen or fourteen deca-phoeb’s I guess. It’s when I noticed she was becoming emotionally distant. Why are you asking me this, Blaytz? What’s wrong?”

            Blaytz didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to put this on Zarkon who was already immensely worried about his wife, but his suspicion was too great to keep it internalized. Zarkon was wise, and strong. He approached most things with a level head and clear thought – he needed to know Blaytz’s thoughts.

            “What if Alfor is being affected in a similar way?”

            “What do you mean?” Zarkon asked sharply.

            “I know that the rift and the comet are fundamentally different, but we can’t deny that whatever material that comet is made out of caused that strange rift on Daibazaal. It’s doesn’t have such pure, concentrated quintessence as what’s leaking from the rift, but it was strong enough to split open the fabric of this dimension. Alteans are more sensitive to quintessence than most any other race and Alfor has done nothing but work on his project with the comet since it crashed on Daibazaal. What if he’s being changed in the same way as Honerva, but more subtly.”

            “I cannot argue that it doesn’t make sense, but despite that, all of that the work they are doing is important. Honerva knows the rift is changing her but she won’t give up her research and I respect her decision. But that’s not what you wanted to talk about. Why are you so agitated about this, my friend?”

            “You noticed the changes in Honerva around thirteen deca-phoeb’s ago. Alfor’s brother, his brother’s wife, and their child were apparently murdered by pirates seven deca-phoeb’s ago. Alfor didn’t look into their deaths. He didn’t even try to find the pirates responsible. We all know how pirates work. They attack ships, kill everyone on board, then scuttle the ship and everything on board to sell later. But they don't kill the children, they're too valuable on the slave market. An altean child would be worth a small fortune on the slave market. Alfor knows that, but he just accepted that the boy was dead without question. Since when did Alfor take anyone's word for anything? He should have been suspicious, he should have known that the pirates were far more likely to kidnap a child that to kill one. The Alfor that we knew has gone into enemy territory alone with nothing but a sword and grin for what he felt was the common good. He’s hot-tempered and fiercely loyal to his planet and his family, but he did nothing.”

            Zarkon sighed. He walked back into a chair and lowered his hulking figure down and took off his helmet. Galra were big on propriety, even amongst allies, so him taking off his helmet meant he was allowing Blaytz to see him in a more vulnerable state.”

            “You think that the comet is to blame for him not looking for Lance.” Zarkon stated. It wasn’t a question, but Blaytz answered anyways.

            “Yes."

            “I wish I could deny it, but I think you’re right. The Alfor we knew before would have torn a path through the galaxy to avenge his family without regard for his status as king. I understand why you’re upset, children are precious and Lance never should have spent so long on Elkbrugidus, but we can’t change what happened. We have to trust that Alfor’s project, and Honerva’s research, will outweigh the changes it causes them.”

            “How do we just let them continue knowing what it’s doing to them?”

            “We don’t dictate how they live. I cannot, and do not want to control Honerva, and we can’t control Alfor. I know you are upset about Lance – trust me, I want to unleash the fury of the Galra on the entire slave belt after seeing what they did to that child, but Honerva and Alfor are sacrificing parts of themselves to make it possible for us to shut down places like that. If what you are saying is true, which I believe it is, then we cannot blame Alfor for his failure to look for Lance. Now we need to look to the future, it’s all we can do.”

            Blaytz sighed and also took a seat. He knew Zarkon was right, Zarkon was almost always right, the bastard. He had a clarity of mind that tended to elude Blaytz when he became agitated.

            “Lance said that his father had promised him Alfor would find him. He believed that his uncle was out there searching for him. I can’t help but think of him sitting in that star damned cage for seven deca-phoeb’s, looking up at the sky, waiting for Alfor to find him. I hope he never finds out that that’s not true. It would devastate him.”

            “You truly care for that boy.”

            “I do. I plan to bring him back to nalquod with me.”

            “Have you discussed that with Alfor?”

            “Not yet, but I will soon. The time for our departure is drawing nearer and I refuse to leave him behind.”

            Before Zarkon could respond, the door to their room whooshed open to reveal Alfor’s worried form. Blaytz and Zarkon immediately stood up.

            “Where’s Lance?” Blaytz demanded.

            “I revealed to him that I had thought he was dead all these years, but apparently he’d been under the impression I’d been searching for him. He didn’t take it well and went running from the room.”

            “Depths,” Blaytz swore. He’d jinxed the universal fates, and now Lance had found out the very thing the nalquodi had hoped he wouldn’t learn. But he couldn’t bring himself to blame Alfor. The king probably wasn’t even aware that he was different, and the changes in his personality weren’t his fault. Now wasn’t the time for blame – he needed to find Lance and do as Zarkon said. He needed to move forward, and he need to help Lance do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, lots of knowledge was dropped here. Next chapter, Lance opens up about his time on Elkbrugidus, and gets a few bonding moments with the other kids.
> 
> After the next chapter we're going to have a time jump. Time to get this plot rolling! There are so many more ways I'll be able to create langst when our blue boy is older.


	12. Then The Time Came

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children bond with Lance. 
> 
> Alfor and Blaytz come to an agreement. 
> 
> The time to say goodbye finally comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. I finally finished this chapter. I wrote this while having a fever (I have no idea why I have a fever, I'm completely fine otherwise) so there will probably be weird typos. 
> 
> The next chapter will feature a time jump. We'll pick up about three years in the future, but that timeframe will only last for a few chapters (they are important for character development). After that we'll jump another couple of years to the formation of Voltron. That will last a few chapters, and then we'll be catching up to the show's current timeline! 
> 
> Also, all your support has meant the world to me (I almost decided not to post this story online at all but you've all given it so much love), and I love all of you!

\---

 

            Prince Lotor was due at the training deck in a few dobash. He would be training with the others. Lotor had always been fairly stern, but he found an unexpected joy amongst the other children of his father’s allies. The humans were odd, and their expressions and mannerisms were often quite funny. He often caught his adopted brother smiling and laughing softly when the kids got loud, and they often pulled a hesitant Keith into their strange conversations and arguments.

            It was also nice to see his adopted brother finally relax. They had become close in the short time since he’d been adopted into their family, but the boy had carried many physical and emotional wounds after his time as a gladiator. Adjusting to his new life had been difficult, but reuniting with most of his friends had added a light to his brother’s eyes that Lotor hadn’t seen before.

            The prince was not expecting to encounter Lance wandering aimlessly through the hallways. At first the young altean boy didn’t even seem to notice that Lotor was there. His eyes were distant and red rimmed, and they stared at nothing. He wasn’t crying, but he looked devastated.

            Lotor hadn’t had the chance to speak with the boy at all, but Shiro had told him about the conversation he’d had with Keith. This seemed different than what Shiro had described, but he couldn’t deny that something was very wrong with the child in front of him.

            “Lance,” Lotor said softly. He stepped into the boy’s path, and although Lance stopped moving, it took a few ticks for his eyes to focus on the person standing in front of him.

            “Prince Lotor,” Lance said. His voice was raw and emotional, and he looked around for a moment as if finally taking in where he was.

            “Are you alright, Lance?”

            “I…” Lance stopped and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to cry anymore.” His voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

            “What made you cry? Can you tell me?” Lotor tried to keep his voice soft and quiet.

            “Not yet,” Lance said. Lotor could read between the lines. Lance didn’t want to cry, and if he spoke about what had happened at that moment, he would start crying again.

            “Alright, then why don’t you come to the training deck with me? All of the children are training together this morning. You don’t have to join us, but it might be fun for you to watch.”

            “Okay,” Lance nodded. Lotor gestured forward.

            “It’s this way.” They began walking and Lance’s eyes took on that distant look again. Lotor took out his comm tablet and sent a discreet message to his father – he was sure that someone was looking for the altean boy, then put it away and led Lance to the training deck.

            Everyone was already there when Lotor arrived, and all conversation paused when the prince stepped inside with Lance.

            “Lance will be watching us train today,” Lotor stated airily. For a moment no one spoke, but he noticed Keith step forward when he realized something was wrong with the young altean. Lotor gave a minor shake of his head, and Keith stopped.

            “We are happy to have you here, Lance,” Allura said.

            “Yeah buddy, you’re looking really good. I’m glad we get to hang out with you a bit,” Hunk said.

            “Buddy?” Lance questioned.

            “Yeah. Buddy. It’s like, something you call your friends,” Hunk replied. Lance unexpectedly blushed and smiled.

            “Okay, buddy,” Lance said shyly. Allura pressed her lips together and exchanged a look with Lotor, and the prince was pretty sure they thought the same thing: the boy was incredibly sweet.

            “Lance why don’t you sit over there,” Shiro said. He gestured to a far wall, and Lance didn’t hesitate to comply. He walked over and sunk down, wrapping his arms around his knees.

            “Alright everyone, let’s limber up before we start. We’re going to be learning more hand-to-hand today,” Shiro said. Pidge groaned.

            “But Keith always kicks our asses in hand-to-hand,” the 10 deca-phoeb old said.

            “Language, Pidge,” Shiro warned. Pidge grumbled something too quiet to hear, but sunk to the floor to start stretching.

            Shiro walked over to Lotor and spoke with his back to Lance.

            “Is everything alright?” he murmured.

            “I don’t know. I found him wandering the hallways. Something happened, but he doesn’t want to talk about it right now,” Lotor replied. “But I sent my father a message telling him that Lance was with us.”

            Shiro nodded. “I think it’s good that he’s with us right now.”

            Lotor nodded his agreement, and then the two older boys turned their attention to the training.

           

\---

 

            Halfway through the training session, movement on the observation deck caught Lotor’s eyes. He flicked his gaze that way and recognized the blurred shape of his father. He figured Blaytz was up there to, and likely the other allies.

            The training ended after a couple vargas, and the exhausted kids slumped to the ground in a loose circle, panting and sore.

            “Lance, come over and join us,” Lotor said. The altean had watched the training with a mixture of awe and longing.

            Lance stood up and walked over. He sat down between Keith and Hunk, and drew his knees back up to his chest. His eyes had cleared, and he seemed far calmer than when Lotor had encountered him in the hallway.

            “Do you want to talk about what happened?” Keith asked him quietly. Lance was sitting fairly close to Keith, and Lotor was pleased to see that Lance seemed comfortable being near to the half-galra.

            “It’s… silly.” Lance said hesitantly.

            “If something makes you sad you should talk about it, even if you think it’s silly,” Allura chimed.

            Lance nodded and took a deep breath. “Before my parents were killed, when the pirates were taking me away, my dad told me not to worry because my uncle Alfor would look for me and save me. Then I watched them die. Then I was sold to my owner on Elkbrugidus. I spent every day in my cage waiting for my uncle to show up. I wanted to give up, but I kept telling myself that my uncle was coming. But he wasn’t. He said he thought I was dead. He wasn’t looking for me at all.

            “I know I’m here now, I’m safe now, but I keep thinking that if Blaytz hadn’t of seen my by accident, I would have been there for forever. I would have waited for my uncle Alfor until they killed me, because he was never going to come.”

            Lance’s eyes were haunted as he spoke. No one in the room could even fathom what it would have been like to spend seven deca-phoeb’s in a cage, but…that didn’t mean no one knew what it was like to lose their family.

            “I didn’t have anything to look forward to,” Hunk said after a few ticks of silence. “I watched my parents die. Shiro, Matt, Pidge, they were all sold before me. When I blew up the pirate ship I was on, I didn’t have a plan after that. I didn’t know anything about space, or aliens. I didn’t know where the good or bad planets were. I still think silly things too, like, what if Gyrgan hadn’t have been following the ship? What if we had been far out in the middle of nowhere?

           "I had no way of getting off the ship after I killed it, and I probably would have died there if Gyrgan hadn’t been there. I had this grand plan of getting rid of the pirates and finding my friends, but I realized later that I wouldn’t have been able to do any of things. I would have just… died out there, all by myself. I have a new family now, I’ve found most my friends, but I still think ‘what if’ and it’s really hard man.”

           “I felt the same. I didn’t think I would be rescued. I thought I would die in the gladiator arena,” Shiro was looking down at his biotic hand. He flexed the fingers a couple times almost absentmindedly.

           “I was really happy to find Hunk and Shiro, but I never stop thinking about my brother. Trigel has her people looking, but I keep thinking like, what if he’s on a planet like you were on, Lance. I just want him to be safe.”

           “I didn’t know your brother was still missing. I’m sorry,” Lance said.

           “It’s okay, I know we’ll find him, I just really want him to be okay.”

           “I didn’t know my dad and my mom left…” Keith said hesitantly. He refused to look at anyone. “I don’t know why. I thought she loved me, but she just left and I always thought I did something wrong, and I never stop thinking about that. All the time I think about how maybe if I’d behaved better, or been smarter, or more talented, she would have stayed.”

           To everyone’s surprise, Lance reached out and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. Keith seemed startled at first, but then he smiled softly at the boy beside him. Lotor realized that Lance was probably copying Blaytz – the nalquodi always did the same thing, patting the shoulder, when anyone was upset. Even though he was still obviously upset, Lance was trying to comfort the other boy. It made the galran prince smile.

           “All of you have been through unspeakable hardships,” Allura said. “But your strength and resilience is most impressive. I cannot convey how truly remarkable I find you all.”

          “My father said that soon he and his allies will have the ability to end the galactic slave trade. We cannot change what’s happened, but soon we will have the ability to put an end to the ones who caused you all such pain,” Lotor said. Then the group fell silent, and a bond seemed to form between them in that moment.

         The moment was interrupted when Hunk’s stomach growled, loudly, and suddenly everyone was laughing, even Lance.

         “We should go find something to eat,” Shiro laughed. Everyone stood up and began walking to the door. Lance hesitate at first, but when Lotor looked back he say Keith murmur something to the other boy, who nodded and followed the half-galra out.

         “Have you guys heard about how Hunk once practically blew up our space kitchen back on our ship?” Pidge asked.

          “Pidge!” Hunk yelled. Everyone laughed again and made their way to the castle kitchen.

 

\---

 

            Blaytz and his allies watched the kids file out of the training room. It was heartening to see them laughing, and getting along, and Blaytz’s heart soared when he’d seen Lance laugh. Now, however, he had to talk with his friend.

            “Alfor,” Blaytz said. He turned around and crossed his arms. “I plan to take Lance back to Nalquod with me.”

            The Altean king sighed and ran a hand over his white beard. He glance towards his advisor, but Coran kept his eyes averted. Blaytz truly didn’t know how his ally would react. Long ago he would have known, but he couldn’t easily read this new Alfor.

            “Lance is altean. He belongs on Altea,” he said finally.

            “He belongs wherever he will be happiest. He wants to go the Nalquod with me – and I don’t want to separate from him.”

            “Do you care for him so much?”

            “I care for him more than I would my own child. You know my people, Alfor. Our entire culture revolves around affection and family. We can teach him everything he needs to know, and we can give him everything he needs heal. The universal fates put him in my path, not yours. Not to mention the pod matriarchs will adore him the moment he arrives. He won’t be there forever, in fact I hope in a few years he’ll be ready to join the Garrison on Altea, but for now he needs to come home with me.”

            “Blaytz is right, Alfor,” Zarkon said. “Race makes no difference. If it did, I would be demanding you hand Keith over to me. After all, he is half-Galra. You are the one who said the universal fates brought these children to us.”

            “Coran?” Alfor questioned.

            “I have to say I agree with Emperor Zarkon and Blaytz. You and I have had extensive discussion about how and why these children came into our lives, and I don’t think we should try to get in the way of the universal fates.”

            Alfor sighed. “I know what you all say is true. I just feel immeasurable regret that I didn’t search for Lance. I want to make it up to him.”

            “You will, someday,” Trigel said.

            “Let’s just hope he doesn’t turnout like Blaytz after growing up on Nalquod. I think one insatiable flirt is enough for this team,” Gyrgan said with a booming laugh.

            “Excuse me,” said an affronted Blaytz. “I am truly delightful.”

            The argument devolved from there and ended with all five allies chuckling and bantering good naturedly.

 

\---

 

            After that day, Lance continued attending the group training. Coran said he was still too weak to participate, the boy got winded just walking from his room to the training deck itself, but Lotor and Shiro began to work with him one-on-one. They taught him basic rules of combat, what to keep an eye out for in a fight, and all the starting information he would need to know.

            The rest of the children took turns taking walks with Lance. Sometimes it would be all of them, sometimes only a few, sometimes only one, but Coran and Blaytz had agreed that the best way for Lance to gain strength was to start by simply walking.

            Lance preferred walking outside. Sometimes it was still hard for him to do it during the daytime – it was just so big and bright. The huge expanse of the sky frightened him sometimes, but at night it was much better. At night he could almost pretend he was still in space, living on the ship with his parents, staring out the window at the endless stars while his mom hummed and his dad made food.

            Sometimes he cried – he couldn’t help it. Sometimes freedom was too much. And touch – he still wasn’t good with being touched. Usually he was okay if he initiated the contact, but any unexpected touch threw him into panic attacks. Coran said it was because for most of his life, touch had been associated with pain and his brain was having trouble recalibrating.

            No one got mad at him, though. Lotor especially became adept at helping Lance when he broke down. Sometimes Lance would flee – he didn’t know why, suddenly his brain would just tell him he needed to run and he would run. Lotor was the one who was often able to find him hiding in the dark, private areas of the castle. Lance didn’t know what it was like to have siblings, but he thought that maybe Lotor was like what a brother should be.

            Shiro tried to help to, but he’d become particularly close to Keith. The two often trained together, or just spent time together. When Lance had asked Keith about it, Keith had said Shiro was like a brother to him to. Lance didn’t admit to anyone that he wished Shiro would pay more attention to him to, but the human boy’s attention was usually fixed on Keith. Lance felt that his thoughts were ugly, and he tried to get over the feeling, but couldn’t help but want Shiro to tell him he was doing a good job, just like how he always said it to Keith.

            It was Allura who had first suggested that Lance should try shooting a blaster. She said that it didn’t require too much strength, and that all he needed was a steady hand.

            Blaytz hadn’t wanted to agree – Lance was still in a very fragile state and he wasn’t sure how the boy would react to the loud report of a blaster, but he knew how much Lance wanted to be useful. He wanted to be like the other children – he wanted so desperately to be okay, so Blaytz had agreed.

            No one, not one person, had expected how much of a natural he would be with a blaster. Suddenly, with the weapon in his hand, the shy and damaged boy was gone. He became serious and laser focused. He aimed at his targets and fired without hesitation. His accuracy was almost frightening and neither Blaytz nor Lotor could stop singing his praise. Even Shiro had called Lance their “sharpshooter.” Lance wasn’t sure if he’d ever smiled so broadly.

          There were good days where Lance could almost forget the past seven deca-phoeb’s of his life. There were also bad days – he had nightmares that would follow him the entire day, even after he woke up. He would dream he was back in his cage – he would dream of his beatings and he would relive that fear.

          Keith’s room was right next to his, and sometimes when Lance was crying and trying to convince himself that he was really safe, he would go to the half-galra’s room. Although Hunk and Lotor had probably become Lance’s most trusted friends, Keith’s embrace was strangely soothing to the frightened altean.

          Keith was awkward about the affection, but he never became angry with the other boy, no matter what time of night he showed up at the door. Neither of them ever spoke about it, and they didn’t spend as much time together as Lance did with Lotor, Allura, Hunk, and Pidge, but Keith would never turn him away.

          After sixty quintants, it was finally time for everyone to leave. The various leaders needed to go back to their planets. The children cried – they had bonded more closely than their parents had imagined they would. They were the comfort to each other, they were each other’s lights.

          When they stood in the hangar bay, shuttles standing by reading to take each pair to their respective ships in orbit, they made promises that they would see each other soon. It had been decided that in a few years time, the children would return to Altea and attend the Garrison academy. Shiro was already of age, so he would be splitting his time between Daibazaal and the Garrison on Altea alongside Allura, who would also make regular trips to Daibazaal to learn diplomacy. 

         Lance melted the hearts of everyone when he shyly stepped forward and gave each of his new friends a hug. He wasn’t usually so affectionate, touch still frightened him, but he wanted to try and show his new friends how much they meant to him. It made the children cry harder, even Shiro and Keith shed some small tears.

         Then the time came, they all boarded their separate shuttles, and Allura and Keith watched them all fly away. The two siblings embraced each other tightly, their siblings bond had grown so strong, and they tried to remember that they would see their friends again soon.

          Alfor wrapped his arms around his children, and then a wailing Coran glomped on to all three, and the king felt an emotional clarity he hadn’t realized he’d been missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Lance so much. He's so so so pure. I'm also kind of a sucker for good guy Lotor.
> 
> Are ya'll ready to see a fifteen year old Lance after growing up with flirty mcflirt face, Blaytz? I sure am! Next chapter coming in 2 to 3 days!


	13. His Wit Is All His

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The allies and children reunite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy quiznak everyone, this chapter was hard for me to write. I don't know what this says about me, but writing fluff can be really hard for me and this chapter is literally just pure fluff so if it's weird, that's why. That being said, some angst is going to start being thrown in again.
> 
> So, enjoy the cuteness overload. I'm going to go find an angsty fanfic to read to clear the cotton candy from my brain.

\---

  _Three years later, Altea_

 

            “You’re fidgeting,” Keith said to Allura. The princess shot him an indignant glare.

            “I’m not fidgeting.”

            “You are.”

            “Oh be quiet.”

            “Why are you nervous? It hasn’t been that long since you last saw Shiro.”

            “I’m not nervous about seeing Shiro.”

            “Lance?” Keith questioned.

            Allura nodded. “We haven’t seen him in three deca-phoeb’s. Both Pidge and Hunk have visited Altea a couple times. We see Shiro and Lotor somewhat regularly, but not Lance.”

            “Hunk’s visited Nalquod a few times though. He said Lance is doing well. Father has also said that he’s much better.”

            “I know I just… I wish he could have stayed on Altea with us.”

            “We all know that it was best for him to go with Blaytz.”

            Allura turned to look at her brother. The half-galra had gotten taller, and he was no longer the scrawny street child he’d been when he first arrived on Altea. His shoulders were broader, he’d gained more muscle and definition. He was also supremely talented and excelled at almost everything he did, and Allura was proud of him. He was still far too hot-tempered, but she just accepted how he was.

            A knock sounded at the door of Allura’s room and a moment later it opened to reveal Alfor and Coran.

            “The pods are approaching, shall we go meet them in the hangars?” Alfor asked. Allura immediately straightened and nodded.

            “Yes father,” she said with a smile. She walked past, and after she stumbled a little Alfor caught Keith’s eyes and smirked. Keith returned the smile and followed after his sister.

            “Well I for one am looking forward to having you all my children back in the castle again. It just hasn’t been the same around here since they all left,” Coran said while wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

            Alfor laughed. “Your children?” the king said.

            “Yes they are all my children, each one a strange little star causing mischief around the castle. Keith and Allura are far too well behaved on their own.”

            “Oh? Last deca-phoeb didn't Keith chased a cormlac into a cave to try and kill it because Allura dared him to?” Alfor said. Allura’s back went rigid and her steps faltered, while Keith’s ears drooped a little lower, but despite their apparent chagrin both Alfor and Coran caught the little grin they shared with each other.

            “Right, and then Allura followed him in to try and help when she realized Keith had run into an entire nest of them.”

            “And then they were both in trouble.”

            “But then in swooped the glorious King Alfor! In his white glittering armor and his dashing goatee, sword swinging, saving the distressed prince and princess and winning the heart of the beloved queen!” Coran said with a grand gesture. At that point, the entire group of four completely broke down laughing.

            “I believe I won the queen’s heart long before that,” Alfor chuckled.

            “Oh yes, with similar roguishly daring feats. What planet was it on where you yourself crashed into a large group of sentry robots with nothing but your sword and a smile?” Coran asked.

            “When did you do that father?” Allura asked with a gleam in her eye.

            “That’s not important,” Alfor coughed.

            “Well here we are!” Coran announced airily as they approached the hangar bays. The doors slid open and three pods were there. Two were already powered down – Hunk and Gyrgan emerged from the pod on the far left, while Trigel and Pidge descended from the pod on the far right.

             “Allura!” Pidge called. Allura excitedly dashed forward and wrapped the younger girl in a hug.

             “Oh Pidge it’s so good to see you. I trust everything has been well since the last time you were on Altea?”

             “Things have been great. Trigel thinks we’re close to finding my brother. There are rumors of a strange alteanoid that’s been seen so we are trying to figure out more.”

             “That’s wonderful news. I’m sure we’ll have Matt with us soon.”

             “Keith, buddy, good to see you!” Hunk walked up. Keith motioned to clasp the other boy’s hand, but Hunk just enveloped the smaller half-galra in a bone-crushing hug.

             “Hunk, can’t breath,” Keith wheezed. Hunk laughed and released Keith before giving similar treatment to Allura and Pidge, the latter of whom muttered obscenities at the strength of Hunk’s hug. Trigel shook her head in fond exasperation as her daughter spewed the curses, but seemed too defeated to try and correct her.

              “Alfor, it’s good to see you! We’re going to feast well tonight!” Gyrgan said. Like hug, he wrapped the king in an embrace, then Coran after. Trigel gave him a _look_ before he could do it to her, so the rynirathian just clapped her on the back.

              The center pod finished cycling down and opened to reveal Zarkon, flanked by Shiro and Lotor. The oldest prince had let his white hair grow long, and his features were sharper and more defined. Shiro had added bulk and definition to his frame and carried himself with an easy confidence that he hadn’t quite had after being rescued.

             “Zarkon, I’m glad to see you my friend,” Alfor said to the galra emperor.

             “It’s good to see you Alfor, Gyrgan, Trigel.” Zarkon nodded to each of his allies in turn, but it didn’t escape anyone how he had changed. He’d always been a strict man, but he looked harder, almost tired. It was well known that Honerva wasn’t well, and it seemed to be wearing on the emperor.

             “It’s good to see you all,” Lotor said. Shiro stepped forward and accepted hugs from Pidge and Hunk, then patted Keith on the shoulder and gave Allura a sweet smile.

             “I’m happy to be together with everyone again,” Shiro said.

              “Alfor, when will Blaytz and Lance be arriving?” Trigel asked.

             “Any moment, but you know Blaytz. He is almost always late.”

              “And how is Lance?”

              “Different,” Gyrgan said immediately. He shared an amused glance with Hunk. They were the only ones who had seen Lance in the three deca-phoeb’s since he’d left Altea.

              “What do you mean? Is he alright?” Allura asked.

              “Oh he’s totally fine. Like, Nalquod was really good for him but you know he’s changed a bit and grown up and… well you’ll know when he gets here,” Hunk said. A pod zooming into the hangar and setting down next to Zarkon’s pod delayed further questions.

               Everyone went silent – they couldn’t help but be curious and nervous about seeing Lance. He’d been not much more than a shell of a child after leaving Elkbrugidus but Blaytz had reported to them that he had gotten so much better.

              The door of the pod opened and the two in question strolled out. At first, it was hard to recognize Lance as being the same person as the waifish child they’d first met. The Lance that stepped out of the pod was taller, lean, and had the broad shoulders and narrow waist of a swimmer. He walked with his shoulders squared and his head high – his already dark skin had gotten darker thanks to the bright Nalquodi sun, and his blue eyes and blue facial markings seemed even brighter for it. His hair was also shorter, so the sharp angles of his face and ears were more defined.

              When his eyes lit on the group waiting, a dazzling grin split his face. He walked straight up to the nearest person, which happened to be Allura, took her hand, and placed a kiss on the back.

             “Princess Allura, you look just as beautiful as the last time I saw you,” he said. The princess was at a complete loss for words and Keith made a choking sound. Lance’s eyes focused on the half-galra and he didn’t hesitate before grabbing his hand and placing a kiss on it as well.

             “And Keith, you’ve gotten even more handsome even with your hair all long like that.”

             At Lance’s words, Alfor looked at Blaytz and simply raised and eyebrow. The nalquodi just grinned and shrugged his big shoulders.

             “It’s called a mullet,” Pidge supplied helpfully. Lance looked away from the furiously blushing boy whose hand he was still holding and grinned.

             “Thanks Pidgey. It’s good to see you. Has there been any word on your brother?” Lance asked, finally dropping Keith’s hand.

             “Yeah, Trigel thinks we’re close to finding him.”

            “That’s great news!” Lance said. He turned to Hunk and opened his arms wide.

             “Hunk! Buddy!” Lance said.

            “Lance!” the boys met in a painful looking hug that seemed to involve them trying to squeeze the life out of the other. While they hugged, Allura and Keith exchanged baffled looks with the rest of the group – well, almost everyone was baffled. Lotor and Blaytz were just smirking at everyone’s apparent confusion at Lance’s new behavior, and the ease at which he initiated contact with others.

             When Hunk and Lance finally broke apart, Shiro stepped forward and offered Lance a gentle smile.

            “Lance, it’s good to see you. You look well,” the older boy said.

            “Thanks Shiro. You’re looking just as debonair as before. Did I ever say how much that scar suits you? Gives you this kind of, mystery. Bit of danger, bit of intrigue. Allura’s a lucky girl.” Shiro’s face flushed a brilliant shade of red and he spluttered.

            “I… No we aren’t…” Allura had a similar reaction, and the adults who were watching the exchanged had to muffle laughs and smiles.

            Lotor stepped in to rescue his embarrassed brother.

            “Life on Nalquod has done you well,” the oldest prince said. “I’m glad we finally get to meet again in person.”

            Lance’s face softened when he looked at Lotor. Some of his flirty pretense dropped, and he looked at the galra prince as if he were seeing a family member for the first time in a long time.

            “Yeah, it’s good we’re all back together again. How long are you going to be able to stay?”

            “Not long. Obviously I’m not going to be attending the Garrison, but I’ll visit when I can.”

            “Well then, let’s get everyone settled! I’m sure it’s been a tiring journey for everyone. This way!” Coran said. The ginger haired altean took off down the hallway, and the children followed like little ducklings. The allies held back for a just a moment.

            “Well, he certainly acts like a nalquodi,” Trigel chirped.

             “Now there are two Blaytz’s. I don’t think the castle will survive,” Zarkon said, but he punctuated the comment with a little smirk. The allies laughed at the emperor’s rarely shown humor.

            “How is he really, though?” Alfor asked.

            “He’s…okay,” Blaytz said, his eyes fixed on the hallway the children had disappeared down.

           “But?” Gyrgan prompted.

            “His current persona is just something he adopted from me and others he’s seen on Nalquod. It’s what he does. He alters his personality to fit whatever situation he’s in. He’s desperately trying to figure out who he is, but on the way he’s just molded himself to fit in with my people. He does well keeping his mask in place, but sometimes the façade cracks. He still can’t find who he truly is. Although his wit is all his – he has a quick tongue,” Blaytz laughed.

           “From what you told us, that wit is what nearly killed him on Elkbrugidus,” Zarkon said. Blaytz nodded and a fond smile appeared on his face.

            “Oh yeah, and after spending three deca-phoeb’s with him I understand how he got under his slaver’s skin. It’s like… his absence of personality has given him an uncanny ability to read people. It’s how he changes his personality so easily, and gets under people’s skin if he wants.”

            “And how is he emotionally?” Trigel asked.

            “He does alright, but he refuses to show his true emotions to really anyone except for me, and Lotor when they would do their regular video chats. Your son has helped him in ways I could not, Zarkon. I’m grateful for that.” Blaytz nodded his head to the galra emperor. Zarkon smiled in return and a bit of pride shone in his eyes.

             “The issue is,” Blaytz continued, “he bottles himself up until it all spills over and he has a breakdown. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but despite his current persona, he is still quite fragile. But, as dour as that all sounds, he has been doing extraordinarily well given what he went through.”

            “Of course,” Alfor said. “Three deca-phoeb’s of love cannot erase seven deca-phoeb’s of abuse and neglect, but it’s heartening to see that he has improved so much as to easily initiate contact with others.”

            “And flirt with them,” Gyrgan quipped. Blaytz laughed heartily.

           “No one spends that much time on Nalquod and doesn’t come away with excellent flirting abilities.”

           “I wouldn’t call them excellent, per say,” Trigel smirked. They all laughed as Blaytz spluttered with feigned outrage.

 

\---

 

            The kids all lounged in the common area, talking animatedly, sharing stories and catching up with what they had missed after so much time apart.

            Lance was currently regaling Pidge, Hunk, and a capture Shiro with stories of Nalquod, Lotor watched the group with fond amusement, while Allura sat by Keith’s side a short distance away.

            The half-galra was staring transfixed on the animated face of the blue-eyed altean. Allura looked from her brother’s face, over to Lance, then smiled and looked back at Keith.

            “You could go speak with him,” she said innocently. Keith’s concentration broke and he jerked his head toward Allura. Upon noticing her knowing smirk, his purple cheeks flushed.

            “I’m just happy to see him doing well.”

            “We all are, but not all of us are staring at him like he’s a star.”

            “Allura,” Keith hissed.

            “I was just pointing it out,” the princess said innocently.

            “Keith!” Hunk called. Allura and Keith snapped out of the conversation to look over at the burly human boy.

            “Uh, yeah?”

            “Come tell everyone about when you ran into a cormlac nest!”

            “You did _what_?” Shiro snapped. Keith groaned, immediately regretting that he’d told Hunk the story on his last visit to Altea.

            “It was Allura’s fault!” Keith retorted. Allura made an indignant sound and shoved her brother. They laughed and moved closer to everyone else and began telling the story about Allura’s dare.

 

\---

 

            That evening, Lance stood alone in a familiar room. It had been a long time since he’d been in there, and it brought back a lot of memories of a much darker time.

            As always when he was alone, the altean was at a loss for what to do without anyone else around. When there were other people he could just go along with what they wanted to do – he could flirt and tell jokes, but alone he just went back to feeling blank.

            A knock at his door startled Lance out of his thoughts.

            “Come in,” he called. The door whooshed open to reveal the tall, lithe form of the oldest Galra prince. No longer a teenager, he looked every bit a galra soldier and prince, even with his long white hair.

            “Lotor,” Lance said happily. The older man smiled and stepped into the room. Although Lance had grown taller in the past three deca-phoeb’s, he was still a whole head shorter than the other prince.

            “Lance, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I’m sorry we weren’t able to have a video call recently.”

            Lance shook his head. “It’s alright. You’re an adult now, a prince, and a military leader. It’s not like you have a lot of free time.”

            “Still, we should have a chat. Let’s go to my quarters. Remember that facial mask I told you about that I found at the space mall? I brought it with me. We should try it out.”

            “Yes!” Lance pumped a fist in the air. Lotor had taken to sending parcels to Lance with various types of skincare products for the boy to try. When they would do their video calls, they’d put masks on their faces, relax, and Lance would finally let some of his emotions out.

            They walked out of Lance’s room and wound through some corridors until Lotor stopped and activated the pad next to a door. They stepped in Lotor dug through a wardrobe before pulling out a dark blue robe with gold embellishments at the collar and waist, and a pair of lighter blue pants.

            “Here,” Lotor chucked them at Lance, and the other boy caught them laughing.

            “Pajama party then?”

            “Of course. I get so little time to relax so I need to take advantage of it when I can,” Lotor laughed without even a hint of embarrassment.

            Lotor pulled out similar pajamas in dark purple and the pair immediately shucked their clothing and dove into the comfortable pajamas.

            The rest of the evening was spent lounging in the galra prince’s room, masks on their faces, chatting quietly until Lance drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love pining Keith, it's so cute. And the Lance/Lotor bonding scene was so self indulgent it makes me cringe. I just wanted to write them having a pajama sleepover beauty night at least once, but I was so tapped out on fluff from the rest of the chapter that I cut it short. But I still just adore caring, big brother Lotor. 
> 
> Next chapter, the Garrison! I'm doing a sliiiiight time jump to the kids already having been in the Garrison for a little while. Reason being, I don't want the story to become too convoluted. There's really no reason that I need to write out their first day and all that jazz cause it won't serve much purpose to the overall plot.


	14. Hands Clenched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk almost loses his cool.
> 
> Lance gives Pidge some hope.
> 
> The kids start their group trainings again. 
> 
> Keith learns something surprising about Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter cause we get to see way more Hunk and Pidge interacting with Lance. I've been waiting to rewrite this scene from the show for ages! Hope you enjoy!

\---

_At the Garrison on Altea, eight months later_

            Hunk was generally a kind person. He detested violence, loved cooking, loved seeing people smile. His goal at the Garrison was to learn as much as possible so he could help people in the future. He wanted to be with his friends and live peacefully.

            There were very few occasions where Hunk had lost his temper. After watching his parents be slaughtered. When he saw red and pressed the button to blow up a ship full of pirates. When he saw Blaytz carry Lance’s shattered form into the castle.

            Actually, those were the only three times Hunk had lost his temper in his fifteen years of living. Now though, now he was close.

            The Garrison had been and adjustment for all of the younger kids, although Keith had adapted the quickest and had been dubbed a prodigy. His attitude got him in trouble, but being the king’s son and second in line to the Altean throne afforded him certain liberties.

            Lance was not afforded those same liberties. The instructors knew that he was Alfor’s long lost nephew, but no one at the Garrison knew about his past except that he’d spent the past couple of years living on Nalquod.

            Lance had wanted it that way – he was adamant no one know the truth of his childhood. He didn’t want to be treated differently, but somehow, being the absentee nephew of the prince who abandoned Altea long ago, earned the young prince animosity from instructors. His flirtatious nature and angelic features made him fairly popular with students, but for reason’s Hunk didn’t understand, the instructors had taken to treating Lance more harshly than anyone else. They seemed to judge him for what his father had done.

           “Just because you’re a prince and the king’s nephew doesn’t mean you can slack off! You’ve been training with Prince Keith and Prince Shiro, but your abilities are nowhere near their level. You’re reckless and bring nothing but shame to King Alfor and his name. If you're anything like your father, you should have just stayed off Altea,” the object of Hunk’s anger spat at Lance. Iverson, the loud mouthed Altean Commander who treated Lance like he was dirt on his shoe.

           Hunk wanted to yell at him. Hunk wanted to scream that Lance had watched his father and mother be slaughtered when he was five. That he spent most of his life in a cage being abused daily and hadn’t even begun receiving an education until three years ago. That Lance had learned an extraordinary amount of knowledge in such a short time, and that he’d learned more in three years than most people children would be capable off.

           Lance was reckless with the flight simulator, but he was talented, ridiculously talented as a pilot, and his recklessness with the simulator was born from his intense desire to prove himself worthy.

Hunk stayed quiet, hands clenched, while Lance received the verbal beating with a blank face and vacant eyes. Hunk knew the look. He’d been seeing it more and more on the altean boy’s face as his instructors continued to tear him down.

He wanted to tell Gyrgan, he wanted to tell Allura so she could speak with her father, or he at least wanted to smash Iverson into the ground, but Lance had sworn Hunk and Pidge to secrecy. He would smile a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, then he would say that he just had to work hard to prove all his instructors wrong. Then he’d laugh, tell a joke, and brush it off.

“Dismissed,” Iverson finally spat. Lance just nodded his head and began walking away. Hunk and Pidge followed him out – Hunk knew it had been just as hard for his younger friend to stay silent as it had been for him.

They’d respected Lance’s wishes for months now, and Hunk had kept his head cool, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he and Pidge could watch Lance be verbally abused. No one in the galaxy deserved that treatment less than the altean boy did.

“It’s okay, guys,” Lance murmured quietly as they walked. Hunk took a deep breath. Lance shouldn’t have been the one to comfort them.

“Iverson’s a dick,” Pidge snapped. Hunk didn’t even bother trying to correct her language. He agreed.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll just work—“

“Don’t say you’ll just work harder to prove them wrong. They shouldn’t treat you like that in the first place.”

Lance sighed. “It’s really okay.”

Hunk glanced over to look at his friend’s face. Thanks to their skillsets, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had become teammates upon entering the Garrison, each one fulfilling a role in the simulator. He’d already been close to them both, but in the nearly eight months they’d been at the Garrison, he had begun to see Lance as family the same way he thought of Shiro and Pidge as family.

Thanks to that, he started to be able to read the altean’s expression. Lance was not okay. His face was still oh so carefully blank. His eyes looked lifeless, and Hunk was frustrated because he couldn’t do anything to help. Lance didn’t want them to interfere, and Hunk wouldn’t betray his trust by going behind his back. He just wondered if Lance had told Blaytz what was happening, or Lotor. Although Hunk thought he was probably Lance’s closest friend his age, Blaytz and Lotor were like his family.

“Tonight when we get back to the castle, let’s sneak into the kitchen to make snacks,” Hunk finally said. He couldn’t change Lance’s mind about not talking to King Alfor, but he could bake the cookies he knew made Lance happy. He was going to support his friend however he could.

“I’ll pass, there’s something I need to do tonight,” Pidge said cryptically. Hunk nodded and nudged Lance.

“You and me then,” he said. Lance finally smiled, although his eyes stayed lifeless.

“Sounds good buddy,” Lance replied.

 

\---

            Late that night, life finally started returning to Lance. Probably in large part to Hunk’s cookies, and the raw cookie batter he let Lance eat before baking them. Or the dot of flour type stuff that Hunk had booped onto his nose, which had finally elicited a quiet laugh from the blue-eyed boy.

            When they were done, they put the cookies into a storage container to take back to their rooms. The scoped out the darkened hallway before trotting out. Since they weren’t actually living at the Garrison, they didn’t technically have a curfew, but their parents tried to keep them on the same strict sleeping schedule, hence the sneaking around.

            A scuff of shoes had them both hiding behind in an alcove. When they peaked out, to their surprise they saw Pidge with a big bad slung over her shoulder, slinking somewhere. Hunk and Lance exchanged a look, and with a nod silently agreed to follow her.

            They followed her all the way to the edge of the castle and to the edge of the juniberry fields where she began to unpack and set up equipment.

            “Whatcha doin’ Pidgey?” Lance quick. Pidge yelped and jumped, before turning to face them.

            “I… uh…”

            “What is all this?” Lane asked, stepping forward. “It’s doesn’t look like Altean tech, not entirely.”

            “I kind of made it all,” Pidge said.

“What’s it for?” Hunk asked.

Pidge sighed and sat next to a box in the middle of the stuff. Lance plopped down next to her, Hunk on the other side. Hunk opened the cookie container and held it out. Pidge absently grabbed one. She munched for a few seconds, her eyes on the stars.

“The search for Matt has stalled,” she finally said.

“Oh Pidge. I’m sorry,” Lance said softly.

“It’s okay I just feel like I need to be doing more instead of just sitting here safely on Altea, going to school, laughing and eating cookies while he could be out there suffering.”

“So you made this stuff?” Hunk said.

“Yeah. I’m… I know it’s silly but I’m searching transmissions from the galaxy for Matt’s voice signature. I know it’s silly but I just don’t know what else to do stuck down here!”

“His voice signature? How do you even have a voice sample to compare to?” Lance asked. Pidge pulled a locket from underneath her shirt. She opened it up and a voice floated out.

“Happy birthday Katie. I made this locket so I could annoy you wherever you go. Love you.”

When the voice was finished, Pidge snapped the locket closed and sighed once more.

“Matt gave this to me on my tenth birthday. That was three weeks before our ship was attacked. This equipment scans any communication waves it picks up and an algorithm I designed analyses it against this voice clip of Matt’s. If it detects a match, it immediately tracks and records the origin of the communication. It’s useless, there are so many communications waves running through the universe at one time that it’s like trying to find one specific grain of sand on a beach. But I need to feel like I’m doing something.”

“What about Trigel? Have you showed this to her?” Hunk asked. Pidge shook her head.

“She’s already spending so much time and resources to find Matt. I don’t want to bog her down more with this useless idea.”

“I don’t think it’s useless. Before me, do you know how many slaves ever escape from Elkbrugidus?” Lance said. Both Pidge and Hunk jerked their gaze to him. Lance never, ever talked about that planet. He would sometimes mention things that had happened to him there in passing, but he never said the name.

“How many?”

“None. Ever. That planet has existed for thousands of deca-phoeb’s, and never has a slave escaped, until me. The chances of that happening, of Blaytz actually making it off that planet with me, were impossible. He shouldn’t have been able to do it even with the riot he created, but he did. Some sort of cosmic force brought us all together – King Alfor’s artifacts just happened to be on the planets all of us had been taken to. So think, why would Matt give you that necklace when you lived on the same ship? Why didn’t the pirates take it from you when they took everything else you owned? How did you come up with the idea to use his voice clip and build this equipment? I think maybe the universal fates have been working towards this all along.”

Lance didn’t look at them while he spoke. His eyes were trained on the stars. Pidge didn’t know what to say, Hunk didn’t either. So the former just threw her arms around the altean boy and hugged him as hard as she could.

“Thanks, Lance. That actually makes me feel a lot better. Turns out you’re pretty smart when you aren’t flirting with everything that moves,” Pidge said in a voice muffled due to her head being buried in Lance’s shirt. Lance laughed and patted her back.

“I’m pretty smart even when I am flirting with everything that moves,” he quipped back. Pidge didn’t say anything to that, just kept hugging him for a minute longer.

Hunk caught his friend’s eye, and they both smiled, and Hunk thought that he finally saw a little bit of sparkle return to the altean’s blue eyes.

 

\---

 

            Allura and Keith strolled into the training room of the castle. Although everyone was now attending the Garrison, they decided it was a good idea to pick up their group training sessions again. All six kids, plus Lotor, had practiced together for over two months before everyone officially started at the Garrison and Lotor had had to leave, and in that time they’d become a great team.

Being in different years, classes, and on different teams at the Garrison meant that the kids didn’t get to see each other as often as they wanted and Allura, Keith, and Shiro had felt themselves drifting apart from the other three.

            It had been Keith who had suggested they all start training together again, just them, at the castle, to help strengthen the bonds between them. Shiro and Allura had immediately gotten on board with the idea. Upon asking her father, he’d also agreed.

            The other three kids had seemed excited at the prospect, and they’d agreed to meet once a week for training just between the six of them. Lotor was off seeing to his duties as Zarkon’s heir, but Allura had promised to have him join the next time the prince was on Altea.

            Shiro walked in a few ticks after the siblings and smiled.

            “I’m so happy we’re doing this. We hardly get to see Lance, Pidge, and Hunk anymore. Our parents are all allies, and we need to make sure our bonds stay strong!” Allura said passionately. Shiro smiled fondly at the princess and nodded.

            “I agree. I’m happy you suggested this, Keith,” Shiro said. He ruffled the half-galra’s hair, and the younger boy ducked and scowled at Shiro with no real heat. The two boys had become extremely close, and they both acted as much like siblings as Allura and Keith did.

            “Have no fear everyone, the sharpshooter is here!” Lance said, strolling grandly through the door. The statement was met with half-hearted groans and chuckles.

            Yet, when they really looked at the younger altean, something didn’t quite seem right. There was a dullness to Lance’s eyes that bothered them, Keith especially. And the smile. It looked strained, almost. Then there was the tightness around his eyes, how his shoulders weren’t held as straight as usual. It was easy to forget his fragility with how boisterous and loud he usually was, and how much better he had gotten in the recent years, but something looked like it was chipping away at him now.

            Lance and Allura immediately sent questioning gazes towards Hunk, while Keith kept narrowed eyes on the blue-eyed altean boy.

            Hunk just shook his head in the barest of movements and then plastered a smile on his face.

            “Keith! The prodigy. We hear so much about you at the Garrison but hardly get to see you,” Hunk said. He wrapped the half-galra in one of his famous bone-crushing Hunk hugs.

            “Yeah, they’ve put me in more advanced lessons,” Keith said sheepishly.

            “Lance, your skin is looking amazing. You have to share with me what products you’ve been using,” Allura said. Lance’s face lit up a little.

            “I can do that,” he said. “You are already almost as beautiful as I am, so with some new products we might end up on the same level.” Lance punctuated the sentence with a wink. Somehow the flirtations and cockiness still seemed a bit forced, but Allura still laughed while Pidge groaned.

            “Why don’t we all start warming up and stretching out before we start training,” Shiro said, turning everyone’s attention back to what they were there for. There was a chorus of agreements.

            Keith sat down to begin stretching, and then promptly lost the ability to breath when he saw Lance. The altean boy sunk down into a full center split, his long legs seeming to stretch out beside him for days. He lowered himself down to his forearms and his torso lay almost completely flat against the floor.

            Shiro’s eyes also widened, and Allura’s mouth opened in astonishment, although they weren’t looking at the boy quite the same way Keith was. Still, everyone was a little shocked to see just how flexible Lance was.

            Hunk and Pidge noticed the expressions and snickered. Pidge especially zeroed straight in on Keith’s face. Keith’s eyes flicked to her, saw the devious expression, and immediately he let his face go blank. But it was too late. The gremlin had seen him and judging by the devious expression on her face, she was going to do something.

            “Hey Lance,” Pidge said innocently. “Can you show me that thing where you grab your ankle and lift your leg up behind you?”

            Lance sat up and turned his head to Pidge, a little confused by the sudden request.

            “Sure,” he said with a shrug. The Altean stood up and balance on one foot. His arm went behind to grip the other ankle, and then lifted the limb up. His torso arched gracefully, and that long leg stretched up and up in an elegant curve.

            Keith’s mouth went dry, Pidge grinned at him wickedly, and Hunk just shook his head.

            “Can I put my leg down now Pidge?” Lance asked.

            “You should do a backbend now,” Pidge said. Shiro began to catch on once he glimpse the look on Pidge’s face, then the look on Keith’s.

            “Pidge, focus less on Lance and do your own stretching,” Shiro said. Keith shot the older boy a grateful look.

            “Yes dad,” Pidge mumbled. Lance just put his leg down, completely oblivious to what had just happened. But, thanks to his obliviousness, he continued stretching in ways that showed off his extraordinary flexibility, and Keith had to keep his gaze firmly fixed to the wall while he silently begged Shiro to start the training.

            “Okat, let’s get started. We’ll practice with our weapons of choice today,” Shiro said. Pidge and Lance whooped. They dashed to the weapons. Lance chose his favorite blaster rifle, pidge chose her retracting whip, Hunk picked up his heavy blaster, Keith grabbed his favorite sword, Allura her energy whip, and Shiro simply activated his biotic arm. The limb glowed purple and the energy in it sharpened the light into a blade.

            Shiro started the simulation, and the team leapt into play. Hunk with his heavy blaster mowed down distant enemy groups. Keith and Shiro went close range, slicing through bots that got close to the team. Pidge used her retracting whip to pull enemies closer, or get drones down from the sky. Allura’s energy whip stunned and sometimes incapacitated enemies, or she yanked them closer to be finished by Shiro and Keith. Lance hung back, shooting with deadly accuracy at any drones or bots that snuck through the defensive line or got to close to a teammate.

            They were rusty, not having trained as a unit in a long time, but they fell into their groove easily. It was finally Allura who first got hit and fell through the training floor. After that, focus broke and Pidge was the next to go down. Without anyone else taking care of the drones, Lance became overwhelmed. He went down and after a moment Keith followed. Shiro and Hunk managed to hold on for a little while longer, but finally they too were sucked into the holes in the ground and the simulator came to an end.

            The kids sat on the lower level, panting, until someone started laughing. That set them all off, and they all began to laugh.

            “Man, I missed us all fighting together like that,” Hunk said.

            “Yeah. Lance you really saved me there a few times with your shots,” Keith said. Lance seemed surprised at the compliment, and his face lit up in a grin.

            “Thanks mullet. We make a good team,” he said. Keith’s face flushed immediately, but he smiled hesitantly in return. Shiro rolled his lips to hide a smile before speaking to address the whole team.

            “We did well for not having fought together in eight months,” he said. “Now I know what we need to work on, as well. We fall apart when one team member goes down, so for the rest of the training today we’re going to practice filling in the gap if someone becomes incapacitated,” Shiro said.

            “I agree, Shiro. Although each one of us brings something special and unique to the team, we must learn to fight without one or more of those components. It’s essential that if one teammate does get injured, we are able to protect them and continue fighting,” Allura added.

            “Exactly. Don’t think of it in terms of just destroying the enemy, think of it in terms of protecting an injured teammate. Now, let’s head back up and start again.”

            Everyone shuffled to their feet and began walking back up to the main training deck. Shiro and Allura flanked Keith, and both nudge him at the same time. He glared between them, but they just smirked at that fact his cheeks were still dark from blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I just love pining Keith and flexible Lance. I couldn't help myself. 
> 
> Also, guess what? Blaytz and Lotor totally don't know what's happening to Lance at the Garrison. Guess what they find out next chapter? Guess how mad they get? hehehehehe
> 
> (P.S. sorry for the weird formatting on this one, the text thingy was not being my friend today)


	15. Now He Flinched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaytz and Lotor return to Altea at the same time, only to be shocked by a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay! I kept revising this chapter over and over again. There were so many interactions and emotions and I just kept tweaking everything! (Not to mention this week was kind crappy for me. The icing on the cake was when a mosquito got into my apartment and bit my hand eight times, all on my right hand. It's pretty much torture).
> 
> BUT, I'm going to get sappy and say how much I love you all, especially my regular commenters. I mean seriously, you all are the absolute best and I'm super grateful for you. 
> 
> Also, ya'll, I have SO many emotions about Season 4. Don't worry, not going to write any spoilers. I just can't quite wrap my head around the season. So many things felt kind of... off? to me? There were amazing parts and overall I liked it a lot, but a lot of it had me just like ???????????????????
> 
> (why are my chapter notes so long? I keep questioning it but I always feel like I have so much to say to you all!)

\---

 

           When Lotor arrived back on Altea, he was greeted by Blaytz. He had developed a strange relationship with the nalquodi outside of him just being another of Zarkon’s allies.

            In the past, Lotor never once questioned his duties as his father’s heir, until they ripped him away from the person who so obviously needed his support. Early on, when Lance was having the most difficult time, he’d come dangerously close to petitioning his father to spend an extended period of time on Nalquod.

            It had been after a night where he’d received an unplanned communications request from Lance. Usually they had times set up to work around Lotor’s schedule, and he immediately knew something was wrong when the request came in at such an odd time.

            He’d made an excuse to leave the military strategy meeting he’d been wrapped up in, then walked to his private quarters and accepted the request.

            Lance had been panicking. He couldn’t breath, his eyes had been wide and terrified. He couldn’t speak around the sobs tearing from his throat. His trembling hand had been reaching out towards the holo screen, towards Lotor, and the galra prince could do nothing.He’d had never felt so helpless in his entire life. It had taken vargas to calm down the boy, to understand what had happened to trigger the breakdown. After that, he’d told Lance he was going to try and come to Nalquod, but despite everything, despite how desperately he knew Lance wanted him there, the altean had refused.

            It was after that night Lotor had first contacted Blaytz separately. The prince had learned that the nalquodi leader had been forced to travel to the other side of his planet to mediate a dispute between two pods, which was why Lance hadn’t been able to go to him for comfort.

            After that call, during the three deca-phoeb’s Lance spent on Nalquod, Blaytz and Lotor would regularly call the other to discuss the boy. They had spent many days talking about the young altean, going over what helped him and what didn’t, his progress, and everything in between.

            Lotor had never planned to become so attached to the boy, but he loved Lance just as much as he had come to love Shiro. He’d even taken to discussing him with his ailing mother, and even as changed as she was, she desperately wanted to meet Lance.

           “Lotor, it’s good to see you,” Blaytz said. The nalquodi himself had landed on Altea not long before the galra prince.

             “You as well. Has the dispute on Nalquod been settled?”

            Blaytz laughed. “As much as it can be. Some of the pod matrons like to feud, which means I have to regularly go and smooth everything over between them. They’ll be content for some time, then start feuding again. The calmest they’ve ever been was during the past three deca-phoeb’s when Lance was there. It gave them something else to focus on. Now that he’s gone they’re right back to feuding.”

             Lotor laughed. “Lance often told me about the matrons. They sound lively.”

            Blaytz grinned him. “Lively is one way to describe them.”

             “Do you know where Lance is? I thought he’d be here to greet us,” Lotor commented. Both he and Blaytz had been off planet for a few months dealing with their business so           he’d expected Lance to be waiting for them when they arrived.

             “I don’t know, I also thought he’d be here. It’s possible he was wrapped up at the Garrison. Let’s go check his room,” Blaytz replied. The pair stepped out of the hangar bay and began winding through the castle hallways.

            When they passed the kitchen, a noise made them stopped. They stepped through the doorway to see Hunk baking some sort of food. This was fairly normal for the human boy, but his face didn’t have the usual calm joy he usually showed while cooking.

            “Hunk, it’s good to see you,” Blaytz said. Hunk’s head jerked up and a slew of emotions flashed across his face, relief being the most obvious.

            “Oh thank Gefith your here,” Hunk said. Lotor and Blaytz exchanged a look.

            “What’s wrong, Hunk? Do you know where Lance is?” Blaytz asked. An indecipherable expression crossed the boy’s face and it was then that the pair realized something was wrong.

            “He’s at the Garrison,” Hunk said while wringing his hands together.

            “Why is he there at this time?”

            “Uhm, maybe you guys should just head over there and see him,” Hunk said.

            “Hunk, what’s going on?” Lotor asked. Hunk just shook his head.

            “You just need to go over there like, now.”

            “Hunk…” Blaytz started, but the boy just held up a hand to cut them off.

            “No, I can’t say anything. I made a promise, but it’s not my fault if you guys go over and find out on your own by accident. Just like, hurry,” Hunk said.

            Uneasiness shot through Lotor and Blaytz. If Lance was breaking down it was unlikely he’d hide it from either of them, so what was Hunk not allowed to tell them?

            “Thank you, Hunk,” Blaytz said. He motioned to Lotor and they hurriedly made their way through the castle. They took a transport pod from the bays and raced towards the nearby Garrison.

 

            When they arrived, they were somewhat at a loss for where to find Lance until a cadet around Lance’s age crossed their path.

            “Pardon, we are looking for Lance. Have you seen him?” Lotor asked. The student looked up at the galra prince, then to Baytz. Just like Hunk, something crossed over the student’s face. She looked…scared, upset, and maybe a little angry. She glanced around quickly before turning her attention back to them.

            “He’s down on the lower training deck.” She quickly spouted directions to get there before taking off down the hallway.

            It was becoming obvious that something was seriously wrong and it set both men on edge. They began making their way quickly in the direction the girl had told them, but weren’t expecting to run into Shiro, Allura, and Keith walking in the opposite direction. They seemed calm and were just chatting happily with each other when they caught sight of Blaytz and Lotor approaching.

             “Lotor, Blaytz, it’s good to see you’ve both arrived safely! What are you doing at the Garrison?” Allura asked. She didn’t show any of the uneasiness that Hunk and the cadet from earlier had.

             “We’re looking for Lance. Hunk said he was here, and a cadet told us he’s on the lower training deck,” Blaytz said. The trio exchanged confused looks.

            “The lower training deck is for officers and advanced students. Why would Lance be there?” Allura asked.

            “And at this time,” Shiro said. He sounded equally confused.

            “We think something’s wrong. Hunk was upset, but wouldn’t tell us why.”

            “We’ll go down with you. Shiro and I have clearance to use the lower decks so we can get in,” Allura said immediately. She turned around and led them through the hallways.

            When they reached a deck on the lower floors, the princess pressed her hand to the scanner and the door whooshed open. They heard someone yelling from down the long hallway.

            “That sounds like Iverson,” Keith said. When they got closer, they could finally hear what he was saying.

            “Get up! If you can’t master this, you’ll end up as some useless cargo pilot and a blight on the king’s name. You don’t belong here. The only reason you’re even in the pilot training program is due to King Alfor’s kindness – he felt obligated because you’re his nephew, but your father couldn’t even protect his own wife and got them both killed and you’re no better than he is. The son of a deserter has no business in the Garrison, and you’re proving too useless to be of any use to Altea. You’re an embarrassment and a burden to the king and the princess and princes you train with. Wherever you were before you came back here, you should go back. Now, run the training again, level five,” Iverson spat.

            Lotor and Blaytz boiled with rage. Keith and Allura looked as enraged as they felt, while Shiro’s face had shut down into an emotionless mask.

            Without a word they stepped into the doorway of the training deck and saw Lance, pale and exhausted, wielding a sword of all stupid things, desperately defending against a level five training gladiator. That level was usually reserved for teams or advanced combat students, not a first year pilot program trainee.

            Iverson stood to the side, his face a mask of contorted hatred as he watched the boy struggling to use an unfamiliar weapon against an impossible opponent.

            “End simulation,” Allura spat just as Lance was knocked into a wall, where he crumpled to the ground. The gladiator immediately sunk into the floor and Lance didn’t move from where he’d fallen.

            Iverson whirled to them, mouth open in preparation to berate whoever had interrupted him, but his face promptly lost all color when he saw who it was that had ended the simulation. Three princes, a princess, and the monarch of an allied planet, all of who had an emotional bond to the boy lying on the floor nearby, stalked into the room.

            “Princess Allura, this is…” Blaytz didn’t let Iverson finish. He reached out, grabbed the collar of Iverson’s uniform, and slammed the smaller altean man into the wall. He bared his sharp canines and pressed his face close.

            “The princess is not who you should be explaining yourself to. Lance is my adopted child and on Nalquod, behaving like this to the king’s heir would be a death sentence. I can kill you here and be within the laws of my people, and King Alfor wouldn’t question it.”

            “How can he be your adopted son? He’s the bastard son of a traitor,” Iverson choked out.

             Blaytz wasn’t big on patience, and he’d had enough of hearing the altean’s venomous words directed at his son. He brought one of his large blue fists up and smashed it into the face of the smaller man.

             Iverson crumpled, unconscious immediately. Blaytz left him in a heap on the ground and made his way to where Lotor and the other children were kneeling by Lance’s side.

            “I need to go report this to my father,” Allura said. Her voice was shaking with her barely contained anger.

            “Go, we’ll bring him back to the castle,” Blaytz said. Allura nodded and motioned Shiro and Keith to follow. For a moment the younger half-galra hesitated. He was tense with rage, his ears pinned back and his teeth bared. He was staring at Iverson and had a black and purple blade clutched in his hand.

            “Keith,” Allura said softly.

            “Did you hear what he said? He had no right to use us against him,” Keith snarled.

            “It’s okay,” a soft voice said. Everyone’s attention turned towards a blank faced Lance. He looked exhausted, but there was no emotion on his face, or in his eyes. He looked blank.

            “It’s not okay! How long has he been saying these things to you? Why didn’t you tell us?” Keith asked.

            “Keith,” Shiro tried this time. “Now’s not the time. Lance needs to rest. We can get an explanation later, but right now we need to speak with King Alfor and Coran.”

 

             Keith looked at Shiro, then back to Lance. The altean boy’s eyes had gone distant, and glassy – he’d completely checked out of the conversation.

             Keith didn’t want to leave. All he could think about were those nights back before Lance had left for Nalquod, when the altean would show up at his room sobbing, trying to ground himself in reality, needing someone to convince him that he wasn’t dreaming, that he wouldn’t wake up back in that cage—

            And Iverson had told him to go back where he’d come from. The altean commander didn’t know Lance’s past, but all he could think about was Lance listening to someone essentially tell him he should go back to living in a cage. They should have known this was happening – something had obviously been wrong at their last training, they’d all noticed, but none of them had said anything.

            “You’re right,” Keith said finally. His father needed to know, and Lance needed time with his father and the galra prince who was like a brother to him, so he allowed himself to be ushered out of the room

 

            Blaytz watched them go before turning his attentions back to his glassy eyed child. Whatever was going through Lance’s mind, this blank state was different than anything he or Lotor had ever seen. It was as if Lance had just shut himself down.

            “Lance,” Blaytz said softly. He carded a hand through Lance’s soft brown hair, trying to bring his mind back from wherever it had been.

            It took a few ticks too long, long enough to make Blaytz antsy, but finally those blue eyes cleared as Lance swam back to the surface of his mind. His gaze flicked between Blaytz and Lotor, but his expression remained blank.

            “Sorry. I’m really tired,” he said.

             “Are you hurt? Do you need a healing pod?” Lotor asked. Lance shook his head.

             “I’m okay.”

             “I don’t believe you,” Lotor teased softly. He pressed a pale purple hand against Lance’s face and gently turned his head so the boy had to look at him.

             The gentle touch made Lance flinch. He didn’t pull away, but that flinch had Lotor’s anger resurfacing. Lance had never flinched away from his touch, he was one of the few people who Lance implicitly trusted, but now he flinched.

             Lotor’s eyes slid over to the unconscious altean lying not far away. The cretin was responsible for this, responsible for Lance flinching away from one of the only people in the galaxy he trusted.

             Lotor wanted this Iverson dead. He wanted to stab his sword into the man’s gut, wrench it this way and that. He wanted to hear him scream.

             Movement broke Lotor’s stare – Blaytz shifted slightly, just enough to block Lotor’s view of the unconscious man. His eyes met Lotor’s – there was murderous rage in his gaze, but he said nothing. He just nodded his head toward Lance.

             Lotor understood. Lance was the important thing right then. Iverson would be punished, and at that moment Lance needed their support more than Blaytz and Lotor needed an outlet for their anger.

             “Let’s head back to the castle so you can get some sleep,” Blaytz said. They helped the boy stand, and the moment he was upright, Lance’s arms wrapped around his own stomach.

             It was a defensive gesture, something people did when they felt hurt or vulnerable. It was a way of both comforting and protecting one’s self.

            Both Blaytz and Lotor were struggling with their anger. Lance was displaying far too many signs of distress, but that unnerving blank face never shifted.

            They didn’t speak on the way back to the castle. In the transport pod, Blaytz simply tucked the boy in close to his side. The silence remained as they returned to the castle, and it followed them all the way into Lance’s room.

            Lance silently changed his clothes, donning the blue pajamas that Lotor had given him before he’d started at the Garrison.

            His movements were sluggish, and the exhaustion was obviously weighing heavy on him. His two guardians wanted an explanation. They wanted to know how long he’d been enduring Iverson’s abuse. They wanted to know why he hadn’t told either of them about it. There were so many questions they needed answers to, but tonight was not the night for them to pry.

            As soon as Lance lay down, his body went limp and he was asleep almost immediately. The blank face relaxed into softer lines, and his breathing became even and quiet.

            Blaytz reached out and carded a hand through the soft brown hair a couple more times. He simply stared at his child for a few moments, emotions fluttering across his face, before finally he stood and motioned Lotor out of the room.

            In the hallway, once the door had closed, they just stood there.

            “I’ll kill him,” Lotor said in a soft, calm voice that belied the seething anger that was bubbling inside him. Blaytz looked over at him, then stepped forward and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. He didn’t respond, there was nothing he could say considering how much he wanted Iverson to die screaming, but they both stood together like that for a moment and allowed their emotions to settle.

            A ding from Blaytz’s tablet broke the silence. The nalquodi pulled it out and read the message from King Alfor. The altean monarch was requesting he and Lotor meet him in the command room.

            Blaytz silently showed the message to Lotor, and they set off down the hallways.

           

            Alfor, Coran, Keith, Allura, Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk were all already assembled in the room. They all looked over to Blaytz and Lotor when they stepped inside.

            “These three have informed us what happened,” Coran said by way of greeting. Blaytz nodded, but said nothing. He simply crossed his arms and waited for an explanation.

            “Why didn’t we know this was happening?” Lotor asked. Hunk and Pidge shifted – they looked almost guilty.

            “Lance didn’t want anyone to know,” Pidge finally said.

            “Yeah. Lance kept saying he was just going to work harder to prove Iverson wrong. He wanted to show everyone that he was strong enough to deal with it on his own and that he could make it in the Garrison. He made us promise him we wouldn’t say anything. It bothered us a lot but he practically begged us to be quiet,” Hunk added.

            “How long has Iverson been treating him like that?” Shiro asked.

            “Uhm, pretty much since we started at the Garrison.”

            Blaytz swore and his fists clenched. Lance was not stable enough to endure treatment like that for so long. He was strong, but he had limits and a breakdown was imminent. Lance had probably only lasted this long by shutting himself down, which explained the blank state they’d found him in.

            “And it wasn’t just Iverson,” Pidge said. “He was the worst, but none of the teachers have been treating Lance well. They always make comments about his dad.”

            “I hadn’t considered that,” Coran said softly.

            “What do you mean?” Lotor demanded.

            “Obviously alteans are free to leave the planet at any time. There are many who want to seek out adventure among the stars, but the royal family is held to certain standards. They have an incredible amount of quintessence and are thought to be linked to the life of the planet itself. A member of the royal family abandoning Altea is seen as the utmost betrayal – essentially, it would be like saying the lives of the altean people are worthless to them. We knew that many were furious when Allor left, but I never thought they would shift the blame to his son.”

            “So they’re blaming Lance for his father leaving Altea. That’s cruel,” Keith spat.

            “And what about Iverson? Pidge said his behavior has been the worst. What he has been doing sounds like outright abuse,” Lotor said.

            “Because of Lance’s mother,” Alfor finally spoke. His face was grave – his brow furrowed and his shoulders rigid. “Lance’s mother was Iverson’s sister. He is Lance’s uncle. I knew Iverson hated Allor – he thought that my brother tricked his sister into abandoning Altea and led her to her death, but I thought Iverson would feel a sense of familial obligation towards Lance considering what he’d lost. I should have never…” Alfor took a deep breath before continuing. “I should have been more careful. I can’t believe I’ve failed that boy again.” The last statement was said so softly that Blaytz could barely hear it. There was true anguish in the king’s voice.

            “Hunk, Pidge, did Allura tell you what we heard Iverson saying tonight?” Blaytz finally spoke. Both children nodded.

            “Has it been that bad from the beginning?”

            “Sort of, but it kept getting worse. Iverson started doing it in front of our whole unit. All of us really like Lance, but the others were too afraid to say anything because none of the other teachers were defending him,” Pidge said.

            That explained the distressed cadet who had quickly pointed them in Lance’s direction at the Garrison. It must have been confusing for the kids to see this boy they all knew and liked being treated so poorly, all because of a man that had died many deca-phoeb’s earlier.

            “But tonight was the first night Iverson dragged him down to the officer training deck. Advanced close combat training isn’t even a requirement for those in the pilot program, and Lance is actually better than others in our class, but it’s like he was just trying to find ways to hurt him,” Hunk said. For the first time, the gentle, anxious demeanor of the boy shifted – his words were heated with anger.

            “Iverson will be dealt with. Regardless of whether or not Lance is a prince, he has been abusing a child under his command. He will not be shown leniency,” Alfor said. “The other instructors will also be dealt with accordingly.”

            “Is Lance going to be okay?” Keith asked. He directed his question at Blaytz.

            “He will be. He’s strong.” Blaytz looked directly into the violet eyes of the half-galra when he spoke. He knew the usually solitary prince cared for Lance more than he let on – he had very few doubts that the boy would have killed Iverson had no one been there to stop him. His temperament should have been worrisome, but Blaytz could only feel relieved that there was someone willing to go so far to protect his son.

            “Now, it’s late. You kids should head off to bed. Let us handle the rest from here,” Coran said. He began to usher them out of the room, but Hunk stopped.

            “Blaytz, sir, I’m really sorry we didn’t tell you sooner,” the boy said. Blaytz shook his head.

            “Hunk, you and Pidge did nothing wrong. You were honoring the promise you made to Lance and no one faults you for that. You have no reason to feel guilty,” Blaytz said. Hunk cracked a smile and allowed himself to be ushered from the room by Coran.

            When the door closed behind him, Lotor and Blaytz were left alone with Alfor. The king paced a few steps away, and spoke with his back facing the pair.

            “I cannot convey how sorry I am that this happened while Lance was under my care. I wanted him back on Altea for selfish reasons – I felt like having him here was like having a piece of my brother back. I never thought about what the repercussions among the people would be. Maybe it would be best if you take him back to Nalquod.”

            “No, Alfor. If this has taught me anything, it’s that Lance truly wants to stay on Altea and in the Garrison. He can learn to be a pilot on Nalquod of course, but Altea is where all his friends are. He was willing to endure eight months of this abuse, and that means that being here is important to him. I expect this situation to be dealt with, but I will not take Lance from Altea unless he asks me.”

            “It will be dealt with.”

            “Good. And Alfor, if you are looking for a connection to your brother, simply having Lance on this planet isn’t enough. I know you feel guilty over his past and blame yourself for what happened to him, but you should try to establish an actual relationship with him. Spend some time with him, get to know him. See for yourself how far he’s come. Try to be his uncle, not his king, and not just a stranger who shares his blood.”

            “You would be surprise how far simple affection towards Lance goes. All he wants is to be seen as a person, not as some broken thing. As Blaytz said, if you want a relationship with him, all you really need to do is talk to him,” Lotor added. It was strange for the prince to be standing there, talking to the king of Altea, his father’s wise and resolute ally, and giving him advice. He had nowhere near the wisdom or experience of the king, but he would confront his own father if it were for Lance’s sake.

             The king finally turned around to observe the two men who had established an incredible bond with his nephew. One a father, one a brother.

            “Thank you. I’ll heed your words.”

            There was nothing else to say after that, so they left the king to his own thoughts.

            Blatyz and Lotor still needed to have a serious talk with Lance – they needed to understand why he hadn’t told them about what was happening (and they were honestly still shocked that Lance had kept it from them), but until the boy woke up they could do nothing except stew in their anger.

            “I’m going to the training deck,” Blaytz finally said. Lotor looked over at him. Blaytz wouldn’t necessarily say he was friends with the galra heir, but their bond through Lance was something that couldn’t be broken.

            “I believe I’ll join you,” Lotor replied. They set off towards the training deck without a word. Hopefully they could burn off their rage before confronting Lance the next day. Both knew that they couldn’t talk to the boy with any hint of anger – the child needed their support, even if they were upset with him for keeping something so important a secret. Lance needed their care, not their anger.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo much angst. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's going to be more angst next chapter with some fluff to make up for how I'm going to break your heart. :)
> 
> Also, I feel so old. I keep reading fics and authors are talking about being busy in high school or college and having exams and I'm just sitting here sobbing because I graduated college four years ago, just turned 26, and I'm an adult now and it sucks. (Seriously as shitty as exams are, enjoy college because being an adult is awful!)
> 
> Okay, it's not that awful, but having to be responsible and do taxes, make your own doctors appointments, and wake up every day at a specific time is really awful.
> 
> Sorry, this week has been seriously rough for me and I'm lamenting adulthood. AND to top it all off, I have to work a half day on Saturday. *sobs*


	16. It Will Never Go Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaytz, Lotor, and Lance have an important discussion.
> 
> Keith opens up to Allura. 
> 
> Lotor takes matters into his own hands. 
> 
> Alfor has a surprise for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I gave myself feels writing this chapter. I'm also suuuuper tired right now so there are probably quite a few spelling mistakes, but I was really eager to get this posted for you all. Sawry about any weird grammar/spelling mistakes. I'll go through this again later to fix stuff. 
> 
> There's lots of angst in this chapter with a little bit of fluff at the end. The next chapter will be much fluffier and will probably be the last one (maybe) before we do another time jump. 
> 
> And here's my requisite sappy moment, I love you all so much. Thank you for the comments and kudos. I literally respond to every comment I get so feel free to chat with me!

\---

 

            Lance wouldn’t look at them. He sat in the lounge, hands clasped tightly together, hunched into his seat. He still sported that thousand-yard stare but there was an edge to it now. He seemed…brittle, almost afraid, even though it was only Blaytz and Lotor in the room with him.

            The nalquodi had a sneaking suspicion that there was a group of kids, and potentially a king and his advisor, waiting outside the room with their ears pressed to the door, but Lance didn’t need to know that.

            “Lance,” Blaytz prompted gently. “Please talk to us.”

            Lance flinched when the words pierced the silence of the room. Blaytz felt as if his heart was shattering into pieces when that happened. Lance was acting as if he expected to be hit at any moment. All he wanted was to go over there and wrap his son in a hug, to cart him off to nalquod and the warm embrace of the ocean. He wanted to drop the boy into the middle of the pod matrons so they could fuss and coo over him. They would be delighted. They would want him to grow out his hair again.

            Lance’s hair had grown quite long during his three years on Nalquod, the matrons refused to let him cut it. They would style it in every which way, decorate it with shiny things they found, they’d loved to comb their fingers through the soft brown locks. Since nalquodi didn’t have hair, they were just fascinated by Lance’s.

            Lance had insisted on cutting his hair before joining the Garrison, but Blaytz and the matrons had often combed his hair to calm him down when he panicked. Blaytz wanted to do that now, but he stayed seated. As difficult as it was, they needed Lance to explain himself.

            “Tell us why you kept Iverson’s behavior a secret,” Blaytz tried again. Lance hunched farther in on himself.

            “Because he’s my uncle. I didn’t remember my mom had a brother at first, but when I heard his name I remembered my mom telling me about her brother. I don’t remember everything, but she told me that her parents died when she was young and that she raised Iverson after that. Iverson blames me and my dad for taking his sister away from him – she was the only family he had left but she chose dad and I over him.”

            “Oh Lance,” Lotor murmured.

            “Lance, none of that justifies how Iverson treated you. You need to understand that no matter how people view your father, you are not responsible for his decisions. You don’t deserve to be punished for him leaving Altea. Do you understand that, Lance?” Blaytz asked. Lance didn’t say anything. His fists clenched in his lap, and he simply stared down without meeting their eyes.

            “What about the other teachers?” Lotor asked suddenly. Blaytz glanced over at the galra prince before turning back to look at Lance. “They were also treating you poorly. Why keep silent about them as well.”

            “I just wanted you to be proud of me,” Lance whispered. The words were so soft that Blaytz almost thought he’d heard wrong. It made no sense.

            “What do you mean?” Blaytz asked softly. Lance’s façade started to crack. There was a sudden uptick in the cadence of his breathing.

            “I told you I was ready to go to the Garrison. I just wanted to show you that I was okay, that I could do it on my own. I wanted to prove that even if things got hard I’d be able to handle it instead of coming to you to fix everything. I wanted you to see me be strong so you would be proud of me.”

            Lance’s voice hitched at the end of his words. Blaytz had had enough. He couldn’t sit there anymore and let Lance collapse in on himself while looking so small and alone. He shifted, ready to move, but before he could stand Lance spoke again.

            “But it was all too much. They kept saying terrible things about dad and I. I thought I could handle it, I thought Iverson was just mad and upset because mother had died. I thought if I just worked really hard I could show everyone that I wasn’t useless, but he hated me so much and I couldn’t pass his tests. I could never prove I was good enough. I’m so sorry for disappointing you,” Lance said.

            Blaytz moved. He swept over to the young altean and enveloped him in a huge. Just like that, the mask shattered and Lance broke down. Great sobs tore through him and he clung to Blaytz as if he were the only solid thing left in the world.

            “You could never disappoint me, Lance,” Blaytz said. Lotor walked over silently and sat close. He rubbed Lance’s back while Blaytz gently ran his fingers though his soft brown hair, over and over again.

            “I’m sorry,” Lance choked out. He probably wasn’t even hearing Blaytz right then. Eight months of repressed emotions were finally released, and Lance was sobbing out the newly broken pieces of his soul.

            “I’m proud of you Lance. Lotor is as well. You have learned so much, you’ve grown so much. Nothing you could do would ever disappoint me. I will love you no matter what.”

            Lance curled himself into his father’s chest and let everything go. Blaytz and Lotor didn’t try to calm him down this time – Lance needed this. He needed the release.

            A quiet thump on the door to the lounge caught the attention of both men, though Lance was oblivious to the sound. Blaytz and Lotor exchanged a look. The galra prince nodded his head toward the door. Blaytz nodded.

            Lotor stood up and walked to the door. He activated the panel. There was a thump, some whispering, then the door close and Blaytz and Lance were left alone.

            Lance didn’t seem to be at all aware of his surroundings at the moment. Blaytz held him closer and murmured quiet reassurances in nalquodi.

            Even though all the citizens of Nalquod spoke the common tongue, Lance had insisted on learning Nalquodi. Blaytz remembered when Lance had first heard his language – his eyes had gone wide and dreamy. He’d said the language sounded like water. He’d been incredibly quick to pick up the language and became fluent in an astonishingly little amount of time. After that he’d begun learning Altean. It turned out he had a knack for languages.

            He reminded Lance of that in his murmurings, reminded him how proud Blaytz was of him. Reminded him of all the incredible things he’d accomplished in three short deca-phoeb’s. He never stopped talking. Over and over again he told Lance how amazing he was. He reminded him of how much his friends cared for him.

            Blaytz continued until the shuddering sobs slowed, until the tense muscles loosened, until the breaths came slower.

            When finally Lance calmed down, neither of them moved. Eventually Lance fell asleep like that. Blaytz reclined slightly where he sat, adjusted Lance’s position, and leaned his head against the back of the sofa. Eventually he fell asleep as well. Coran and Lotor went to check on them some time later, but neither stirred at their appearance. They both just smiled and left, leaving father and son to rest.

 

\---

 

            After Lotor filled everyone in on the general conversation, Keith felt somewhat lost. He spent a few vargas on the training deck, paced the hallways, even visited the pool, but still he felt lost.

            When night fell he found himself up on the observation desk with a blanket of stars stretched above. He’d spent his whole life on Bri’agda, and there were no stars to see there. Every building stretched high into the sky, all the lights drowned out the stars. Growing up on the streets by himself, he always wondered if one day he’d be on a ship sailing through that void. He’d always dreamed of it.

            Once an abandoned child who no one in the galaxy had cared about, now a prince with a vast adoptive family. It still overwhelmed him at times. He’d never been one to pity himself, but he’d never much trusted anyone either. Now he was trying to bring down his walls and move past his mother’s abandonment. He always tried to remember that he had his mother for ten years, that he had once known love, that he had been able to get an education when he was little. He tried to be grateful for everything he had. He tried not to let grief overwhelm him.

            That night he struggled. Iverson’s words to Lance played on a loop in his head. One line especially.

 

_‘You’re an embarrassment and a burden to the king and the princess and princes you train with…’_

           

            It wasn’t true. He had been taken aback when Lance returned to Altea, he was so different than when they’d first met. He was loud, flirted obnoxiously, but he’d had a joy and light that seemed so… beautiful.

            Not one of them thought Lance was a burden. He, Allura, Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, they all loved Lance. They were all closer to each other than siblings. They bickered, sometimes they outright argued, but they also laughed and supported each other. They’d all vowed to be there for each other, to be there for Lance.

            And Iverson had used them against the Altean prince. He’d used them to hurt Lance. It made Keith so angry, so upset. He wanted to scream, or cry. He wanted to grab Lance and shake him and yell at him that none of it was true, that no one saw him like that…

            Keith felt like he should have known. He should have realized something was wrong. They’d both been at the Garrison, orbiting each other, seeing each other at least briefly every day. Training towards the same goal. Lance had been right there, right by him, suffering silently and Keith hadn’t noticed.

            He would do anything for his friends. As aloof as he acted, as independent as he tried to seem, as much as he bickered, he just wanted his family to be happy. If Allura and Shiro hadn’t of stopped him, he would have killed Iverson. Keith had killed before, on Bri’agda. It was sometimes necessary when taking out bandits.

            He would have reacted like that no matter who it was Iverson had targeted – he wouldn’t allow anything to hurt his friends if he could stop it. But… it felt different with Lance. Not just because the boy was the most fragile of them all – he just wanted to see Lance smile.

 

            _I should have known._ Keith thought to himself. Why had Lance, of all people, had to suffer more? Why hadn’t Keith protected him?

 

            “Keith.” Allura’s soft voice interrupted the half-galra’s thoughts. He quickly swiped away the tears that were streaking down his face, but he wasn’t fooling his sister.

            She swept over to him and sat down at his side. She put one arm around his shoulder and stared out at the stars with him in silence for a few ticks.

            “Are you okay?” she finally asked.

            “Am I okay?” Keith spluttered. “I’m not the one who was dealing with that quiznacking bastard’s abuse for eight months.”

            “That’s not what I was asking,” the princess soothed. Keith fell silent for a few dobash. His voice was quiet when next he spoke.

            “Why didn’t we know? We were all at the Garrison together. It was happening right in front of us, and we didn’t know. If we’d just paid a little more attention to him, if we’d just—“

            “Stop, Keith,” Allura said. “You can’t think like that. We cannot take the blame for what happened. Nothing that happened was our fault – it was Iverson’s, and Lance had resolved himself to keep it a secret. He was trying to prove himself and as angry as we are, we can’t change anything.”

            “That’s the point though. He never should have thought he had to prove himself to us.”

            “I cannot pretend to understand what Lance was thinking. We need to remember that after so much time as a slave, he doesn’t think like we do. But Keith, I’m not worried about Lance right now. I’m worried about _you_.”

            “Why? I’m fine.”

            “You’re not. I’m your sister, do you think you really think you can lie to me?” Allura teased lightly. Then she sighed. “Please Keith, talk to me.”

            Keith brought his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, then leaned forward to rest his chin on them.

            “I don’t want to lose this family,” Keith finally whispered.

            “You aren’t going to lose us. Why would you think that?”

            “I’m not good at opening up. I don’t know how to be a prince. I didn’t notice when Lance was suffering. I don’t think before I act. I feel like I’m not fit to be here sometimes.”

            Allura’s arms tightened around his shoulder. She tugged him up and forced him to look at her. She looked fierce, and her eyes were twinkling with anger and sadness.

            “Not one of us is perfect. Not me, not Shiro, not even father is perfect. None of that matters. What matters is that you are loved. You are a part of this family regardless of your faults. Never doubt your place here, Keith. You were the best thing that ever happened to father and I.”

            “I thought the best thing to happen to you was Shiro,” Keith said, but the words were teasing, filled with mirth.

            Allura’s face flushed a bright red. She shoved Keith lightly and ducked her head away to hide her crimson cheeks.

            “Don’t be so cheeky!” she demanded. Keith finally laughed.

            “Okay, okay.”

            “Good, now it’s late and Hunk is making delicious food. I’ll never forgive you if we miss it,” Allura said.

            “We can’t have that.”

            “Of course not. Now let’s go.”

            “Wait,” Keith caught Allura’s wrist as she turned to walk out of the observation deck. The princess stopped and looked back.

            “Keith?” she questioned.

            “Thank you, Allura. For…for everything.”

            Allura’s face split into a soft smile.

            “No need to thank me. You’re my brother. I’d do anything for you.”

            “I’d do anything for you to.”

            “I know that. Now come on.” Allura twisted her grip so she was the one holding Keith’s wrist, then she tugged him out of the room using her impressive Altean strength.

 

\---

 

            Lotor stalked through the hallways of the castle, down and down into the bowels where prisoners could be kept.

            Currently, there was only one detainee. The guards let Lotor pass without question, and the closer he came to the cell, the colder he felt himself go. Ice flowed through him, replacing the burning rage that had been consuming him since he’d first heard Iverson’s words towards Lance.

            When he reached the one occupied cell, he simply stopped and examined the tan skinned Altean inside.

            Iverson stood up and looked at him, his expression unreadable.

            “Prince Lotor. Come to yell at me?” the man prodded. Lotor just stared at him for a long moment before pulling out his tablet. He brought up the holo display and flicked through the security footage he’d had Pidge get him.

            “What’s that?” Iverson asked.

            The paused video showed Alfor, Gyrgan, Trigel, his father, standing in the command room of the castle. Off to the side, a younger version of himself and the other children stood.

            Lotor played the video. Iverson’s eyes fixed to the screen. As they watched, the doors of the command room slid open to reveal Blaytz.

            The video zoomed in. Lance’s small, broken body appeared, being carried by the large nalquodi. Lotor paused the video and let Iverson stare at the image. Let him catalog each of the gruesome injuries that were visible.

            After a few ticks, he started the video again. The image jumped to the med bay just as the kids were ushered out of the room.

            The video zoomed in again as Coran hastily cut off Lance’s shirt to reveal the emaciated boy’s shattered torso and the horrific purple and black bruises that marred nearly his entire side.

            He made Iverson watch as Coran set Lance’s broken bones. He played an audio clip so Iverson could hear Lance’s screams that leaked out even in his state of unconsciousness. He stopped the video once more, just before Coran pulled the white garment over Lance’s broken body. He stilled it so Iverson could absorb each and every injury on the young boy’s body.

            Iverson was quiet. His face, unreadable. Lotor made a noise, and the altean’s eyes flicked up to meet his. Lotor stepped closer to the bars of the cell.

            “Your sister and her husband were slaughtered by pirates when Lance was five deca-phoeb’s old,” Lotor growled. “They were killed right in front of him. Do you want to know where those pirates took him?”

            “Where?” Iverson couldn’t help but ask.

            “Elkbrugidus,” Lotor spat the word. Finally something flickered across Iverson’s face. It was something akin to horror, before he shut himself down again.

            “He was there for seven deca-phoeb’s,” Lotor continued. “He lived in a cage the entire time. He was beaten daily. Your sister’s innocent child, your nephew, suffered through daily beatings, suffered through seven deca’phoeb’s of slavery, alone. This is the state he was in when Blaytz found him and rescued him.” Lotor held up the holo screen, which still displayed the sickening imagine of the broken boy.

            “He received no education until three deca-phoeb’s ago. Everything he knows now, almost every bit of knowledge he has, was learned in only three deca-phoeb’s. He’s overcome more than you can imagine to be here on Altea. And you, you pathetic worm of a man, decided to blame an innocent child for the sins of his father. You projected your hatred onto him. You abused a child who spent seven deca-phoeb’s as a slave and even told him he should go back to where he came from. You tore down the confidence he’s worked so hard to build, all because of your own pettiness.”

            “What do you hope to gain from telling me this?” Iverson ground out. He was doing his best to keep his face impassive, but his shaking hands betrayed him. “You think you’re going to come down here and show me the error of my ways, and I’ll just collapse to the ground in supplication, spewing apologies?”

            Lotor smirked. “No. I don’t care about your apologies. You could lick my boots clean and apologize as much as you want, but it would change anything.”

            “Then why are you here? Why are you showing me this?”

            “Do you know who my mother is?” asked Lotor. There was a hard edge to his voice.

            “Of course I do.”

            “She studied as a druid, and is a master at manipulating quintessence. By studying the rift on Daibazaal, she’s learned incredible things. Incredible ways to manipulate quintessence. She was all too eager to teach me a trick when I told her about what you did to your own family.”

            Quickly, before the older man could react, Lotor’s hands shot through the bars of the cage. He grabbed Iverson by the shirt and dragged him forward so he was slammed against the bars. Lotor’s other hand came up and gripped the altean’s head. Before Iverson could do so much as scream, a white light engulfed Lotor’s hand.

            Iverson struggled, but there was no way Lotor would let him go. The quintessence he wielded changed color – it bled from a pure white to a sickening purple. That glow spread to envelop Iverson’s head. The altean tried to shout, but no sound would escape his throat.

            Lotor stared at him, rage and hatred burning in his eyes. Then, without warning, he let Iverson go and stepped back.

            The former commander scrambled back, breathing heavily.

            “What did you do?” he spat. Lotor smiled, but there was no humor in it. It was as sharp as the blade of a knife.

            “I’m not nearly as powerful as my mother, but memories aren’t very difficult to manipulate. Every time you close your eyes, you will see that picture of Lance. You will never be free of it, you will never stop seeing it. When you sleep, you will dream of what you saw. You’ll dream of his injuries, and his screams. When it’s quiet, when there is no noise to distract you, you’ll hear his anguished screams. From now until the end of your pathetic life, you will be haunted by those images, and those screams.”

            “You’re lying!” Iverson yelled. He brought a hand up and rubbed his eyes, but almost immediately he flinched, his eyes shot open. They were wide and panicked.

            Lotor’s sharp smile grew wider.

            “It will never go away,” the prince snarled. With that, he turned and walked back the way he came. He ignored Iverson’s shouting.

            He didn’t care what happened to the man now. He’d likely go insane before too long – his mother had been right, this was a fate far worse than death.

 

\---

 

            “Lance, I’m glad I found you.” Alfor stepped into the observation deck. Blaytz had told him where the boy was, and the king found himself a little nervous speaking to the boy alone. He’d done poorly at being an uncle to Lance, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to approach the boy.

            Lance turned his head to watch Alfor cross the room. He looked tired and still a little distressed, but it was an improvement. It had only be half a quintant since the whole truth had come out – Lance was still in a fragile state, but Alfor need to do this.

            “May I sit?” Alfor indicated the spot on the floor next to the young altean.

            “Yes,” Lance said softly. Alfor sunk down.

            “There’s something I wanted to show you,” the king said. Lance perked up a little, and his face turned somewhat curious.

            Alfor pulled out his comm tablet and activated the holo display.

            “I promised this to you a long time ago, but I realized that I never actually kept my word.” Alfor pressed a couple buttons, and then a picture appeared on the display.

            It showed a young Alfor with another boy at his side. The boy was just as tall, but his features were sharper, more angular. He had a slimmer frame, and his tan face was split in a wide smile.

            “Dad,” Lance breathed.

            “We weren’t much older than you when this photo was taken.”

            “I…” Lance paused. He swallowed thickly, and Alfor startled when he saw some tears leak from the boy’s eyes.

            “Lance, are you alright? I didn’t mean to cause you distress,” Alfor said quickly. Lance shook his head.

            “It’s not that. I had forgotten what he looked like.” Lance reached out a hand and traced the lines of his dad’s young face in the air.

            “I have more, would you like to see them?” Alfor asked. Lance nodded quickly. Alfor began swiping through photos. Some of them had stories to go along with them, and the king regaled his nephew with exploits from their youth. Some of them had the prince laughing, and there was a little more light returning to his eyes.

            They stayed there for many vargas while Alfor scrolled through every single photo he’d managed to find of his brother.

            Lance took them all in with obvious joy. Tears occasionally leaked from his eyes, but he was quick to assure the king that he was alright.

            When they reached the last photo, Lance’s blue eyes shifted up to meet Alfor’s.

            “Would it be okay for me to have those photos?” he asked.

            “Of course, Lance. I’ll transfer them to your tablet.”

            Lance couldn’t help but tear up. Alfor hesitantly reach out, and when Lance didn’t flinch away too hard, he pressed his hand to the boy’s shoulder.

            “Thank you, King Alfor. I never thought I’d see dad’s face again.”

            “I’m sorry I have no pictures of your mother.”

            Lance shook his head. “It’s okay. This is more than I ever could have wished for.”

            “I’m happy I could help you. I’m so sorry that you’ve had to endure so much because of me.”

            “I don’t blame you. I was really angry a long time ago when you told me you hadn’t been looking for me, but I understand better now.”

            “Lance, I would like to try and do better. I would like to try and know you better. Would you be willing to spend some time with me on occasion? I would like to try and be a proper uncle, if you’ll let me.”

            “I… that’s okay with me,” Lance said shyly. Alfor smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

            “Thank you, Lance.” Lance simply nodded in response.

            It felt a little awkward after that. Alfor was frustrated because he’d bonded so easily with Keith, and yet he couldn’t think of what to saw to his own nephew.

            “Are you hungry? It would be best for you to get something to eat.”

            Lance’s stomach chose that moment to growl, loudly. The sound of it echoed in the cavernous room of the observation desk.

            Alfor and Lance broke into a laugh. The sound escalated until both of them went red from the exertion of laughing. It hadn’t been quite that funny, but somehow once the tension had evaporated, both king and nephew couldn’t hold themselves back.

            Only when their laughter had died down into occasional chuckles did they leave the observation desk to the kitchen.

            Lance suspected the others would all be there, so he took a breath and prepared to meet his friends after the embarrassing events of the previous night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this chapter feels like it was an emotional roller coaster. I hope you enjoy Iverson's fate. 
> 
> Weird side note. Anyone get kinda sad when you comment on a fic and the author doesn't respond? I do, and I don't know why. That's probably why I respond to every single comment I get - I want you all to know how much I appreciate your support!
> 
> Next chapter, let's have some fluff!


	17. Stay By Your Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura confides in Shiro.
> 
> Blaytz and Lotor have a chat. 
> 
> Keith finds Lance on the training deck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this one. I kind of got a cold, and then I literally almost overdosed myself on zinc trying to fight it off... Don't be like me and poison yourself with vitamins because you didn't know what the maximum daily limit is. Be smart, everyone. (Sometimes I'm not sure how I've managed to survive adulthood, I'm not very good at it :D )
> 
> Won't have a big rambling note this time. Just want to add that I'm overwhelmed and overjoyed by the support this fic is getting. I feel really grateful to all the people commenting and leaving kudos. You all are amazing and make this fic worth writing.

\---

 

            The juniberry fields had always been Allura’s absolute favorite place on Altea. When she was happy, they made her want to sing out her joy. When she was sad, they comforted her. When she felt lonely, she could go there and stare out at the vast expanse of flowers that connected her to the Altean people.

            There was a light breeze that tugged and pulled at her white hair, and the princess made no move to tame the wayward locks. Allura just stood there, arms crossed, staring silently out at the beauty that made Altea famous.

            It was there that Shiro found her. She looked astonishing in her Altean garb, standing amongst a field of flowers as if she were the only one on the planet who existed. She also looked lonely. There was a rigidness to her shoulders, and something in her posture, that belied the serenity of the scene.

           

            She barely stirred when Shiro stepped down and stood next to her without a word. He also crossed his arms, and for many dobash neither was willing to break the spell of silence. Not until Allura let out a deep sigh did Shiro finally turn his eyes from the flowers to the princess beside him.

            “I keep thinking about useless things,” she said. Unlike Shiro, her eyes stayed fixed on the flowers.

            “Somehow I doubt that,” Shiro teased. A faint smile flickered to life on her face.

            “Maybe they aren’t useless, but they certainly aren’t productive.”

            “Will you tell me about them?”

            Allura hummed in response. It wasn’t a yes, or a no. She just had to take a moment to gather herself. Shiro had been her constant companion for close to four deca-phoeb’s now. They’d made countless trips together to and from Daibazaal, and occasional trips to Rygnirath and the Dalterion Belt. Both were learning diplomacy – Shiro so that Lotor could be free to continue his duties with the military.

            Something was coming. They both knew it. Her father was so close to finishing his project, and he’d said many times how it would change the universe, but change was never free. The five allies wanted to bring peace and prosperity to the galaxy and even with whatever miraculous weapon her father was building, there would be casualties and war.

            It frightened Allura. In over a thousand deca-phoeb’s Altea had not seen war. There were feuds of course – before the comet hit Daibazaal, the king and his current allies hadn’t been on the best of terms, but nothing had devolved into violence. The prospect of a galactic war was something Allura had to think about as the princess and heir of Altea, but a part of her held onto the childish wish that war was something she’d never have to face in her lifetime.

            And then there was Lance. Never had she felt like she’d failed so grandly. Lance was pure and innocent and he’d been abused right under her nose and she hadn’t noticed.

            When she’d first discovered he was her cousin she’d wanted nothing more than to know him, to spend time with him, to be a sister and a support to him. Then he’d shown up on Altea after three deca-phoeb’s living on Nalquod. He’d had bright eyes filled with laughter, he flirted with anyone he pleased. He sauntered around exuding confidence and self-assurance.

            Of course she knew it was partially an act, trauma like his didn’t go away so quickly, but he was _so_ convincing. He’d set out to trick everyone into thinking he was okay, and like a fool she’d fallen for it because it was so much easier to believe that he’d overcome his past instead of worrying about if he hadn’t. She had even noticed warning signs that not everything was okay, and she’d dismissed them.

            It had been six quintants since the truth about Commander Iverson had come out, but Lance was still not recovered after he finally broke down. His flinching was back, and once again he struggled to accept touch. He tried to put his flirtatious mask back on, but it was a forced façade now.

 

            Before Allura knew it, she was spilling all of her thoughts and fears to the prince at her side. She told him about all her insecurities, her feelings of failure, her fear of an impending war.

            He listened to it all without interruption until Allura ran out of words. She was trembling when she was done, and that last thing she expected was for the human boy to step forward and wrap his arms around her.

             She should have been startled, or pushed him away, but her first instinct instead was to wrap her arms around him and cling on for dear life.

            “Allura.” Shiro spoke softly against her hair. “I understand what you feel. Every part of it. Daibazaal has become my home. I love the people, and I love my family. I love all my friends: Pidge, and Hunk, and Keith, and Lotor, and Lance, and you. The thought of losing any of you makes my heart ache. I know you feel the same, but Allura I will be beside you no matter what. Whatever trials come, we’ll go through them together. You will never be alone as long as I’m alive.”

 

            The implications of those words hit Shiro a split second after they left his mouth. Instinctively he wanted to pull back and spew out explanations, to tell Allura that he hadn’t meant it like that, but when Allura pulled away and looked up at him, all his words dried up.

             She kept her arms draped loosely around his waist, and in her eyes was a cautious joy. Her eyes searched his as if looking for confirmation that he’d meant what he said.

             “Shiro,” she said softly. One of her elegant hands came up and pressed against his cheeks. “I would like for you to stay by my side,” she finished. Shiro leaned into the touch – he brought his hand up to cover hers where it rested on his face. The other hand moved the back of her head. A gentle press was all it took for her to move forward. Shiro bent down, Allura stood slightly on her toes, and their lips met in a kiss that was as sweet as the scent of the juniberries surround them.

             A sniffle behind them had the pair leaping apart. They both turned to see a sobbing Coran standing in the castle doorway. Tears were soaking into his orange mustache and as soon as the kids noticed him, he was reduced to outright wails.

            The royal advisor lunged forward and tugged Shiro and Allura into a backbreaking hug.

           “I thought you two would dance around your feelings for deca-phoeb’s longer, but the universal fates have finally brought you together,” he wailed. Allura laughed and patted the older Altean on the back.

            “Please Coran, you don’t have to make such a fuss.”

            “But I do princess! You are both just so perfect for each other.” He continued sobbing, but released them from his crushing embrace.

             “I have to go tell Alfor you both are courting each other now,” Coran declared.

             “Wait Coran, that might not be the best—“

            Allura’s words were cut off when the advisor whirled around and nearly sprinted back into the castle.

            The shell-shocked couple stood there for a moment, simply trying to process what had just happened. They exchanged a glance, and Shiro couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face. Allura’s face broke next, and then they were laughing uproariously to the point that Allura had to stagger forward and use the castle wall to support her.

            Shiro stepped forward, unable to resist the beatific sight of Allura laughing with abandon. When he got close, Allura’s laughing subsided somewhat, and she looked up at the boy with a wide grin still plastered across her face.

              Shiro leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on those still smiling lips. When he pulled back, Allura moved forward to give him a kiss of her own. Then the simply looked at each other, smiling, and felt that everything was going to be all right.

 

\---

 

            “Alfor, what’s going on?” Blaytz stepped onto the command deck. King Alfor stood there alone with a blank holo display in front of him.

            The king turned at Blaytz voice. There was something questioning, almost accusatory, in the look he fixed the Nalquodi with.

            “I need to show you something,” Alfor said. Blaytz narrowed his eyes, but stepped up beside Alfor without a word. The king activated the display and a security video began to play. It was the inside of Iverson’s cell.

            “Make it stop!” the former commander screamed. He was clawing at his ears while Altean guards struggled to keep him under control. The man’s face was already scratched to bloody ribbons. Judging by the blood on the man’s hand, he guessed the Altean had done it to himself. It almost looked as if he’d been trying to claw his own eyes out.

            “What is this?” Blaytz asked. He felt a deep-rooted hatred to the man but this… this was frightening.

            “I’d hoped you would tell me,” Alfor replied. Blaytz turned to him.

            “Let’s not bother with subtlety Alfor. What do you want to say?”

            “A few quintants ago, Iverson started becoming erratic. He started talking to himself non-stop. He stopped sleeping, he even seemed resistant to closing his eyes. Then he started screaming to himself, screaming for the sound to stop. Then he started to try and claw out his eyes and his ears. I checked the security footage so I could see if something happened, but found that there is about one varga of security footage missing from five quintants ago.”

            “You think I somehow did this to him? Nalquodi have many talents, but driving someone to claw their eyes out is beyond our abilities.”

            “Something happened to him. We tried questioning him, and he seemed somehow incapable of revealing what was causing this.”

            “And you really think I did something?”

            “I know how much you love Lance. I’m truly surprised you didn’t kill Iverson outright when you found out what he’d been doing to your son.”

            “This wasn’t me, Alfor. As much as I want to see him punished, this isn’t how I would go about it.”

            Alfor sighed. “I believe you, but someone did this to him.”

            Blaytz agreed with him, but unlike the Altean king, he already knew exactly who had done this. His only question was how.

 

            After placating his friend and leaving the command deck, Blaytz went in search of a certain Galra prince. He found Lotor in his room, a holo display in front of him and data spilling out.

            Blaytz’s sudden appearance broke the prince from the information he’d been studying and he looked up.

            “What did you do to Iverson?” Blaytz asked by way of introduction. He wasn’t angry, per say, but he was worried about how Lotor had done something like that.

            “I gave him a fitting punishment. He made Lance suffer, so he’ll never escape from Lance’s suffering. He’ll see his broken form, and he’ll hear his screams wherever he goes. When it’s quiet, when he closes his eyes, when he dreams.” There was a wicked kind of joy in the way Lotor revealed what he’d done.

            “You manipulated his memories through his quintessence?”

            “I did.”

            “How do you know how to do something like that?”

            Lotor shrugged. “My mother knows all kinds of ways to manipulate quintessence.”

            A shiver raced up and down Blaytz’s spine. Honerva had taught him how to use quintessence and memory to drive a man insane.

            “And Honerva taught you to do this?”

            “Yes. She showed me that memories aren’t very difficult to manipulate.”

            Blaytz didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t angry at the prince, in fact there was a dark little part of him that felt vindicated by what was happening to Iverson, but the implications of it were frightening.

            He’d known Honerva before the pure quintessence on Daibazaal began to change her. She’d been a scientist, concerned only with alchemy and what kind of good her research could do. Now she was teaching her son how to mentally torture people into insanity. He had to wonder if Zarkon knew, or if he would care.

            “What about the security footage that went missing?”

            “That was Pidge,” Lotor chuckled. That didn’t surprise Blaytz in the slightest. He’d noticed that the young human had a surprisingly vindictive side.

            “Alfor knows someone did this to Iverson.”

            Lotor cocked his head to the side and examined the Nalquodi.

            “Are you upset with what I did?”

            Blaytz laughed. “No. I may be a king but I’m not altruistic enough to care if that man suffers. I think the punishment is actually a little poetic. I don’t care about Iverson, as long as this isn’t something you’ll make a habit of. Lance needs you, and this kind of thing could be your downfall.”

            “You needn’t worry. There are few I care about enough to warrant this kind of action.”

            Blaytz blew out a sigh and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

            “How is your mother?” Blaytz asked. Something passed across Lotor’s face. It almost looked like fear.

            “Changed,” Lotor said simply. The Nalquodi nodded. He wouldn’t pry – he’d been able to get next to no information from Zarkon himself, so it wasn’t surprising that Lotor was equally hesitant to share information.

            “When do you return to Daibazaal?”

            “I will return after six more quintants. Given what’s happened, I decided to stay longer. I’m worried about what this incident will do to him. He hid himself from us and repressed his emotions – regardless of the reason, that’s dangerous for someone like him.”

            “He’s been obsessed with proving himself since the day he came out of the healing pod. Nothing we can do will change that.”

            “No, but Daibazaal is in motion. I still don’t know what King Alfor’s secret project is, and I know you won’t tell me, but the Galra are beginning preliminary preparations for conflict. Whatever is coming, make sure that Elkbrugidus is first on the target list.”

            Blaytz didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say. He knew what he should have said, as a king, as a major part of a powerful planetary alliance – he should have said that destroying Elkbrugidus would not change what happened to Lance.

            He didn’t say that. He wanted it to be destroyed as well, which was a very un-kingly thing to think. 

\---

 

            After returning from the Garrison, Keith felt restless. He often did extra training with Shiro when he was on Altea, but the older boy had been a ghost the entire day. So had Allura. Keith hoped that meant that the two had finally stopped pretending that they weren’t in love, but Shiro wasn’t great with emotions. He wasn’t as bad as Keith, but he also wasn’t much better.

            For lack of anything else to do, Keith made his way to the training deck. If no one was there he could do some solo training.

            The last person he expected to encounter on the training deck was Lance. Judging by the boy’s damp hair and the beads of sweat rolling down his face, he’d been there for some time.

            When Keith walked in, the young Altean was facing a swarm of drones. They buzzed and zipped around firing shots at Lance while he tried maneuvering into firing positions.

            A drone zoomed around behind Lance – he spun, brought up his blaster to absorb the glancing shot, and without breaking the movement he had the drone sighted and destroyed before he turned to another one of the swarm.

            It was astonishing how his blaster moved from target to target with snap speed, firing and re-aiming in less than a tick. Keith couldn’t help but be impressed – he was proficient with a sword but he could never handle a blaster like that.

            When the last drone went down, Keith expected the simulation to end. Instead a gladiator dropped from the ceiling. Lance knelt to one knee and brought his rifle up. He fired three quick shots. One took the gladiator in the abdomen, but the robot whirled to the side to avoid the other two. It sprinted towards Lance, who fired two more shots at the oncoming target, one of which hit it square in the chest, but the bot didn’t go down

            Keith’s brows furrowed – what training level was Lance fighting? The castle had a different rating system than the Garrison, but most castle gladiator bots under level ten should have gone down with those two body shots. This one just kept going, and it was fast.

            Lance dropped his blaster in time to grab the short blade that Keith just noticed was fixed to the Altean’s back. He brought the weapon up to barely block a swipe from the gladiator. Lance managed to fend it off, but the gladiator was pushing him back quickly. He was visibly shaking with the strain and exhaustion, and the gladiator kept wailing on him with punishing strikes that Lance kept barely blocking. The Altean couldn’t even hope to retaliate with his own strikes.

            He managed to land a kick to the bot's knee which caused the artificial foe to stagger back. Lance lunged and managed to get in a couple well executed strikes, but the bot’s level was too high.

            Lance staggered when next he tried to dodge an attack, likely due to the strain on his body. The opening allowed the gladiator to land a blow which had Lance’s slim frame sprawling on the ground. That should have ended the simulation, but the gladiator continued to advance, much to Keith’s alarm. What the hell level was Lance fighting?

            When the gladiator moved to land another blow, Keith couldn’t bear to watch.

            “End simulation,” he called. The gladiator’s movement stopped immediately, and it sunk into the ground. Lance didn’t get up. He lay there on his back, chest heaving, eyes closed. Keith jogged over and knelt down by his side. Even exhausted and sweaty as he was, Keith couldn’t help but indulge a few ticks of just staring at the beautiful face before speaking.

            “Are you alright?” Keith asked. Lance’s eyes opened and he turned his head to stare at the other boy, but he made no move to sit up.

            “Hey mullet, I just need a minute to catch my breath. Want to go a round with me after that?” Lance said with false cheer.

            “How long have you been here?”

            Lance executed an awkward shrug from his prone position.

            “A few vargas maybe.”

            “What level was that simulation?”

            “Thirteen,” Lance said. Keith swore internally. Lance could handle that level using his blaster rifle against flying drones, but not with a sword against a level thirteen gladiator bot.

            “Why are you using a sword? Lance at this level you could get seriously hurt, the bots don’t stop after one hit.”

            “I know that,” Lance snapped, but there wasn’t much heat behind it. He just seemed tired.

            “I know, this is similar to the level Iverson was making you fight,” Keith said softly. Lance pressed his eyes closed.

            “I need to get better.”

            “You aren’t a hand-to-hand fighter. That’s not your specialty.”

            “A blaster can only get me so far.”

            “Snipers don’t go out looking to fight someone close range and they don’t kill themselves trying to master close quarters combat.”

            “But they still need to be able to defend themselves if it comes to that! What if someone else is relying on them? They can’t just let someone get hurt because all they know how to use is a blaster.” Lance brought his hands up and pressed the heel of his palms into his eyes.

            Ah. There it was.

            “Lance,” Keith said, trying to get the altean to look at him. He wasn’t good at comfort, but he had to do something to get Lance to understand that he didn’t need to be perfect at every little thing to protect his team. Fighter pilots were supposed to be in the air anyways – advanced close quarters combat wasn’t even a necessity, but Iverson had somehow abused this stupid idea into Lance’s head.

            For lack of another option, Keith reached forward and grasped Lance’s hands so he could pull them away from his eyes. Whether or not he just didn’t have the strength, or the will, Lance didn’t resist Keith’s movements. The half-galra pulled slightly until Lance was sitting upright and looking at him.

            “You need to forget whatever Iverson told you. Pidge would say it’s ‘bullshit,’ and even thought I don’t know what that means exactly, she always says it when something is stupid or not true. You don’t have to worry about us. We’re your friends and it’s not your job to protect all of us. Stars forbid, but if something did happen we’ll all protect each other, okay?”

            Lance had his lips pressed tight, the bottom one being worried by his teeth, but he nodded. Something like determination settled into his eyes, despite the obvious fragility of his current mental state. His eyes were shiny with unshed tears, but it didn’t look as if we would allow himself to let them fall.

            Keith was always struck by how blue Lance’s eyes were, and how bright his facial markings looked against his dark dark skin. For reasons the half-galra didn’t want to think about right then, he reach out and pressed a hand against Lance’s face. The other boy didn’t flinch, and his eyes closed.

            Keith ran his thumb back and forth across the bright blue marking under Lance’s left eye and the altean leaned into the touch. Some of the tension eased out of him and his teeth released his bottom lip. It was red and swollen from where it had been chewed on.

            As pretty as Keith found Lance’s mouth, he didn’t like to see the damaged lip. He didn’t want to other boy to hurt himself when he became overwhelmed but…

            Keith gave a mental sigh. He couldn’t even pretend to understand how Lance thought. His own childhood had not been a good one, and the abandonment of him by his parents was still a gaping wound in his core, but slavery was different. He wanted to criticize Lance’s coping mechanisms seeing as they tended towards being self-destructive, but he couldn’t. He was just a kid, and he didn’t know what Lance needed.

            Lance didn’t seem to have any intention of backing away from Keith’s touch. He just sat there with his eyes closed, head gently leaning into the half-galra's warm hand, his breathing now soft and even. Maybe Keith couldn’t fix him, but he could at least try to calm the other boy when he started to get self-destructive. It didn’t feel like enough, but it was all he could think to do.

            “Let’s go get something to eat,” Keith finally said. Lance’s eyes slowly blinked opened, and he looked straight at Keith in a way that made the half-galra feel as if there wasn’t enough air in the room.

            “Thanks, Keith,” Lance said. A little smile popped onto his face and Keith had to force himself to breath.

            “Yeah, anytime.” Keith pulled his hand back and stood up, before offering it back to Lance to help him up.

            Lance took it and only wobbled a little when he stood up. Keith urged him forward, and when Lance’s back was to him he shook his head, violently, to clear it of the confusing thoughts about Lance that kept pushing their way forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much feels! Many bonding!
> 
> Anyone notice the parallel in affectionate gestures by Allura and Keith? hehe...
> 
> Sorry this chapter literally progressed the plot in almost no way at all, it's purely fluff and dialog but super necessary for setting up some later stuff. 
> 
> Also, many of you may be wondering, what about Matt? Poor guy has been on his own for almost four years! Well, next chapter Pidge gets some info on that ;)


	18. What Did You Do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge goes to Lance for help.
> 
> Allura reluctantly agrees to a request.
> 
> Alfor and Blaytz are shocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy to write this series of chapters. Warning, season 4 spoilers. 
> 
> I know I say this every chapter but I love you all, thank you for supporting this fic! And to all my regular commenters, I appreciate you so much. It's actually funny, when I post a chapter and I don't see one of you comment after a couple days I get worried like 'oh no did something happen to them? I hope they're okay.' haha! 
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter!

\---

 

            “Lance, I need you to help me with something.” Pidge didn’t bother knocking before entering Lance’s room. The older boy was still wearing his garrison uniform and seemed a little perplexed by her sudden appearance. It had only been a couple quintants since he’d returned to his normal Garrison lessons, only without Iverson and with much better treatment from the other teachers. He was used to his friends randomly dropping in to check on him recently, but they usually knocked first.

            “Yeah sure, what’s up Pidgey?” he asked.

            Pidge stepped inside and slung a large bag off her shoulder. She pulled out her tablet and sat on the floor. Lance raised an eyebrow and lowered himself down next to her.

            “Trigel managed to obtrain this security video from a slave system on the outer rims.” Pidge tapped a few things and the holo display popped up.

            They watched quietly as a group of people went running through a ship. It looked like they were placing explosives. After a moment, explosions popped off around them, and from a debris cloud appeared a group of freedom fighters escorting prisoners off the ship.

            Lance leaned forward as he got a good look at one of the prisoners. He was a tall alteanoid and had hair a few shades lighter than Pidge’s own.

            “Is that your brother?” Lance breathed out.

            “Yeah, that’s Matt.”

            “Where is he?” Lance looked up at Pidge.

            “I don’t know, this video is old, really old, but I know that on the outer rims slavery is really bad. Since it’s so far away from the allied planets, it’s hard for Trigel or anyone else to do anything about it. I did some digging though – there’s a big network of freedom fighters who go around rescuing prisoners and blowing up slave ships there. Since I got a place to start looking, I hacked through systems in that sector. Found out that the explosives the freedom fighters are using is nano thermite titanium boron.”

            “Wow! Really? Isn’t that stuff super rare?” Lance asked. Pidge crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the Altean.

            “Do you have any idea what nano thermite titanium boron is?”

            “I have no idea but you said it like it was important, and that probably means it’s rare.”

            Pidge laughed. “It is, and expensive. So I dug deeper and I can only find one person in that whole section of the galaxy that sells it.”

            “You think they sold it to the freedom fighters who saved your brother?”

            “They had to have been the one.”

            “Pidge that’s amazing, this could help you find Matt! Is Trigel going to go interrogate the vendor?” Lance asked.

            Pidge deflated and Lance’s smile fell. The young human stood up and walked over to Lance’s bed and sat down. Lance stood up from his spot on the floor and followed to sit beside her.

            “She can’t. That system is really far away from the Dalterion Belt. It would take months to get out there, even in a slipstream. Since the video is over three years old, she doesn’t think the chances are good that Matt would still be there.”

            “Yeah but it gives you a starting point. What about that communications monitor you built? What if you narrow its scope just to that sector?”

            “I did. It pinged a match, but it’s a low one and pretty garbled, but it’s in that system. Trigel really wants to help, I know she does. She loves me and she really is like my mom, but the Dalterion Belt is peaceful because she’s so smart. She doesn’t just go into things unless she has thorough, accurate information. She thinks this is a good start, but she thinks we need more info before we send people out there. It’s a really, really dangerous section of the galaxy and she can’t risk her people unless she’s totally sure that Matt’s there.”

            “But this is the first lead you’ve gotten since you all were kidnapped,” Lance protested.

            “I know. That’s why I need your help. I want to go to that system and I need you to fly the ship.”

            Lance’s eyes flew wide. “I am a first year pilot trainee,” Lance hissed.

            “You’re the only one who would be wiling to help me.”

            “Even if we could get on a ship, and even if I could manage to fly it without killing us, it would still take us months to get out there. Hunk told me what that earth word means, that’s a really long time! King Alfor, Blaytz, Madame Trigel, and probably even Lord Gyrgan and Emperor Zarkon will go after us as soon as they figure out what we did.”

            “And that’s the other thing I need your help with. I need to convince Allura to help us by opening a wormhole, and Hunk because we’ll need our whole team to make sure we fly the ship safely.”

            “Allura won’t help us open a wormhole! She’s like, the perfect princess. She doesn’t know how to not be responsible. ”

            “Please, Lance. I don’t know what else to do. Matt has been missing for almost four years. He probably thinks me and everyone else is dead. He’s been alone all this time – I know why Trigel won’t go out there, I really get it, but I can’t stay here and do nothing!”

            Lance dropped his head into his hands. It had been only ten quintants since everything with Commander Iverson had happened. After all of it, Lance barely had the confidence to get out of bed in the morning, and now Pidge was asking him to use his eight months of flight training to pilot an Altean ship halfway across the galaxy.

            Why did she think he could do it? Lance wasn’t nearly good enough for that kind of thing – Keith could do it, the half-galra was a prodigy after all. Lance on the other hand was only in the fighter pilot program because it’s what he asked for and Alfor felt sorry for him. He didn’t even deserve to be in the Garrison, so why was Pidge asking him and not Keith for help?

            “Why not Keith?”

             Pidge snorted. “Keith is reckless, but only when it comes to himself. If he’s the one in danger he’s fine, if it’s someone else, he flips. He’ll go to King Alfor the second I mention this to him. I also don’t really know him as well as you – I trust you more.”

             “I’m flattered that you recognize my awesomeness, but this is really big. Maybe you can talk to Trigel again and see what she’s doing?”

             “There isn’t time!” Pidge stressed. Lance blew out a sigh and raked a hand through his hair a couple times.

             “I’ll come with you to talk to Hunk and Allura, but I don’t think it’s going to go well,” the Altean said finally.

             “Great, let’s go find them! I’m sure it’ll go fine.”

 

\---

 

            “Absolutely not. Are you both out of your minds?!?” Allura shouted at them.

            “Allura _please_. I don’t know what else to do – I finally know where Matt is and if I could just talk to the guy that sells the nano thermite titanium boron, he could tell me who was in the video with Matt.”

            “I understand that you want to find your brother, but you are just a child, both of you,” Allura directed the last part to Lance as well. “If you take an Altean ship into that part of the galaxy, by yourselves, pirates will be on you in a dobash!”

            “But I created a cloaking algorithm – with Hunk’s help I can keep our ship concealed for a little bit while we’re out there.”

            “You did?” Allura said curiously, momentarily forgetting her anger. “How does it work? Wait, no, it doesn’t matter how it works. I won’t help you.”

            “Please. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think it was worth it. I just have to get my brother back.”

            “And what about you Lance? Do you realize the danger of this? If Pidge’s cloaking fails, your ship _would_ be taken by pirates. Both of you will go back into slavery, and Hunk if he’s with you.”

            “But it’s her brother. We can’t just leave him out there,” Lance said.

            “It sounds like Matt was rescued already by the freedom fighters – he could be safe with the them now.”

            “He could be safe but we don’t know that he is.”

            “Hunk,” Allura turned to the boy who had kept silent through the whole thing. “What about you?”

            “Well I mean, I don’t exactly want to go out to the edge of the galaxy into pirate territory with like, no backup at all, but Matt’s also my friend and I really want to find him.”

            “Allura please understand. I know it’s dangerous but it’s my brother. What if Keith was out there, or your dad, or Shiro?” Pidge said.

            “But that’s the very point. I care deeply about all three of you – if I help you, it will be people I love out there in danger. I could lose all of you.”

            “But you’d also risk your life to save just one of us. I would do anything to find Matt.”

            “So would I,” Hunk said.

            Allura turned to Lance, looking slightly desperate. She knew she was fighting a losing argument.

            “Lance, after everything that’s happened are you truly willing to risk this? I understand that for Pidge and Hunk this is personal, but you don’t know Matt.”

            “But I know Pidge and Hunk, and Matt is important to them.”

            “All three of you, come with me, I need to show you something,” Allura said. She walked away without waiting to see if they followed. The three younger kids exchanged a look, then followed after Allura.

            She led them to the holo deck and when they were all inside with the door closed, she brought up the star map.

            “Pidge, input the coordinates of where you plan to go,” Allura said. Pidge walked up to the control panel and tapped in the coordinates. The holographic star systems whizzed away and a second later a new system was in its place.

            “This is the sector where you think you’re brother is, correct?” Allura asked.

            “Yes.”

            Allura looked down and tapped in new coordinates. The star map briefly flashed and then stopped at another system.

            “This is the slave belt. It is as close to that system as Altea is to Daibazaal. I need to know that you all understand that the pirates in this area often sell their prisoners on the slave belt. Trigel is not refusing to go because she doesn’t want to find Matt as much as you do, she’s waiting for more information because these are some of the worst sectors in the universe and she has to have solid information. You don’t know this area, you don’t know how the freedom fighters move and operate or the patterns of the pirate ships. On top of that, all of you are rarely captured alien species. As far as I know, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and Matt are the only humans in the universe not on Earth. Lance, you likely already know how much of a commodity Altean slaves are. I’m not trying to be cruel, but you all are just children – you may be proficient in each of your disciplines, but all of your experience has been learned in the safety of a simulator or a training deck. Please, Pidge, think about it. Even Trigel is afraid to go into this area so ask yourself: have you ever seen Trigel afraid of anything before?”

 

            Pidge deflated and slumped to the ground. Hunk sat down next to her and patted her shoulder, while Lance looked pale and frightened. Allura showing him the slave belt had been a little to much to take and he couldn’t stop from trembling, however, the Altean was determined not to let his fear show. This moment wasn’t about him, it was about Pidge and her brother. He wouldn’t shift the focus to himself by having a breakdown just because he saw an image of where he’d spent his childhood.

            Allura looked sad when she stepped forward and knelt in front of the younger girl on the floor. She reached out a hand and placed it on Pidge’s knee.

            “I just want my brother to be here with me.”

            “How…” Allura started to speak, then stopped herself. Her eyes drifted off for a moment as she thought, and her words were hesitant when next she spoke. “How confident are you in the cloaking device you built?”

            Pidge perked up. “I know it’ll work. I’ve run tests and simulations a thousand times. I even snuck into the hangar bay and installed it on a ship there and it worked!”

            “And you only plan to go to that sector, question the vendor, and leave?”

            “Yes! If I could just get some solid information for Trigel she’ll go in herself.”

            “You understand that you, Hunk, Lance, and I will all get into serious trouble doing this? I won’t be able to hide a wormhole opening from my father.”

            “I know, I’m prepared for that,” Pidge said immediately. Allura looked over to Hunk, who nodded at her.

            “Even when Gyrgan gets mad he’s still super awesome and won’t kick me out or anything so I’m not worried.”

            “Lance?” Allura turned to question the younger altean, but everyone went quiet when they caught sight of him. His eyes weren’t even seeing them – they stayed firmly fixed on the holographic display of the slave belt that Allura had put up. His dark skin had gone ashy pale, and even with his fists clenched they could see the trembling.

            “God Lance I’m so sorry I didn’t even think about what this would be like for you. You don’t have to go with me – I won’t ask you to go anywhere near that place ever again.”

            “No,” Lance said. “I’ll help, you don’t have anyone else to ask to pilot a ship. Keith and Shiro would run to King Alfor the moment you told them your plans.”

            “But Lance,” Hunk said. Lance held up a hand to cut him off.

            “I’ll be fine. The two sectors are just neighbors – that place will still be light years away from us. It’ll be difficult, but your brother’s life is more important than my feelings. Blaytz may ground me on Nalquod for the next forty deca-phoeb’s, but if we get your brother back it’ll be worth it.”

            “You think he’ll take you back to Nalquod if you do this?” Hunk asked.

            Lance shrugged. “He already wants to take me back. After what happened, he doesn’t really trust the Altean people around me anymore. Not you Allura, but other Alteans.” Lance added the last part quickly when he saw the princess’s shoulders droop.

            “Alright,” she sighed. “I shouldn’t be doing this but I get the feeling you will try to get there anyways regardless of what I say. However, you must promise me that you will do no more than question the vendor. If you learn anything important, come back here and get help. Do you understand me?”

            A chorus of “yes” sounded from the three kids.

            “Good, then let us begin preparations. Pidge do you already know what ship you want to take?”

            “Hopefully the one I already outfitted with the cloaking.”

            “Alright. All three of you need to prepare. Will everything be ready by tomorrow night?”

            “Yes, Allura. Thank you. Thank you!” Pidge shot forward and wrapped her arms around the taller girl. Allura’s face softened as she returned the hug but a part of her wondered why she’d just agreed to let them all go into danger.

 

\---

 

            “If all goes well, the trade routes should be solidified in a matter of quintants. The sector is finally secured from pirates,” King Alfor said. Blaytz lounged back in his chair and nodded.

            “Good to hear. Lotor, the presence of your fleets in the area has helped quite a lot. Zarkon said you’re the one who’s been coordinating them.”

            “I have. The regular presence of galra ships should deter any pirates looking to attack the trade ships.”

            “Gyrgan and Trigel said they will also be sending ships to periodically sweep the area. After deca-phoeb’s, we’ll finally be able to safely trade resources from the more distant systems.” Alfor sounded relieved when he spoke. He wasn’t the type to slump in his chair and relax like Blaytz, but some of the tension did seem to have eased from his shoulders.

            The door of the dining room whooshed open to reveal Keith and Shiro. Both boys were freshly showered which meant they’d likely come directly from the training deck. However, the human boy was different. Since the day Blaytz had met him he’d had a shadow permanently cast over his face. His eyes would often become unfocused as he recalled some awful memory or another. Shiro had always looked as if the weight of the universe had rested on his shoulders.

            Now the boy looked happy. He wasn’t smiling, but his face had cleared of its shadows and the tension had eased from him. He no longer looked like a frightened animal waiting to be attacked.

            “Keith, Shiro, please sit! We’ll be having a grand meal tonight in honor of the trade route the allies have just secured,” Coran said.

            “That’s excellent news,” Shiro said as he took a seat. Keith was silent as he sunk into his own chair.

            “Where is Allura and the other children? Pidge and Lance tend to get distracted, but Hunk is never late to dinner,” Blaytz asked.

            “I have seen any of them all day actually. Keith have you talked to them?” Shiro said.

            “No. I went to Allura’s room to try and talk to her earlier, but she wasn’t there.”

            “That’s odd. I wonder what they could be doing,” Alfor said.

            “Would you like me to go and try to find them?” Coran asked.

            “No let’s give them a few dobash and see if they show up.”

            They didn’t show up after ten dobash, and everyone started to feel somewhat anxious. For Allura especially to be late to a formal meal was unheard of. They were resolving to go looking for the kids when a low hum seemed to overtake the castle. Alfor went rigid.

            “What is that?” Lotor asked. The hum increased and Alfor stood abruptly, his chair screeching as it was pushed back.

            “Someone is opening a wormhole,” the king said. He went running from the room. There was a din of chairs scraping the floor and then the whole group was running after the king towards the command deck.

            Blaytz arrived just as Alfor activated the door. They stepped in and saw Allura standing at the castle controls.

            “The wormhole is open but I can’t hold it! You must go through now,” Allura said.

            _“Heading through now.”_ Lance’s shaking voice echoed through an open communications channel.

            “Allura!” Alfor bellowed. Allura jerked but her hands stayed firmly planted on the pillars.

            _“We’re through, close it!”_ Pidge said. Allura immediately took her hands from the pillars and slumped to the ground. Alfor, Shiro, Keith, and Coran ran over to the princess while Blaytz stayed routed in spot. Lotor was by his side and they were both struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

            “What did you do?” Alfor said. His voice was soft as he helped Allura to sit up, but the quiet words didn’t hide the king’s anger.

            “I’m sorry, father. Pidge thinks she can find her brother’s whereabouts and I had to help.”

            “Allura, explain to me from the beginning,” Alfor ground out. Allura’s eyes flicked to Shiro – he looked confused and concerned, but nowhere near as angry as Alfor.

            When he noticed the princess’s gaze, he gave her one small nod. With that, Allura spilled the whole story to the room.

            “You let them steal a ship and opened a wormhole to a pirate controlled system on the other side of the galaxy to follow a lead from a security video that’s almost four deca-phoeb’s old? How could you do something so foolish?”

            “I decided to trust their judgment.”

            “Their judgment? They are children and have been training for less than a deca-phoeb. Tell us the coordinates of the system you sent them to, we’re going to bring them back.” Blaytz couldn’t recall ever seeing Alfor so angry, or so worried.

            Allura stood up, albeit a bit shaky on her feet, but her face was determined when she looked at her father.

            “I won’t. I promised Pidge that I’d wait a few vargas to tell you where they went if I didn’t hear from them. Pidge has encrypted the information in the castle systems and hidden their ship’s transponder signal. You are angry and I accept whatever punishment you decide, but I will not break my promise to my friend.”

            Blaytz still couldn’t speak. He wanted to. He wanted to yell at the stoic princess for being so reckless, but he couldn’t. He could hardly move. Lance was out there in an extremely dangerous sector of space, highly damaged and suffering a relapse into his old personally, flying a combat rated transport ship in pirate territory despite having less than a deca-phoeb of training.

            “Allura you will not leave my side until this situation is resolved. Once the children are safe we will discuss repercussions," Alfor said before turning his attention away from the princess. "Coran, contact Gyrgan and explain the situation immediately. I’m going to contact Trigel – we need them both on Altea now, I’ll open a wormhole for them. Lotor, will you please send a message to your father and tell him what’s going on? He will probably be unable to come to Altea but he needs to know about this.”

            “Of course.” Lotor’s voice was tense when he spoke.

            Blaytz needed to move. He needed to say something or _do_ something but he couldn’t. There was nothing he could do. His son was out there in immense danger on the other side of the galaxy, and he couldn’t do anything. The nalquodi couldn’t remember a time in his life where he’d felt so scared.

            There was a small part of Blaytz that wanted to feel pride. Despite his damaged mental state, Lance was taking a great risk to help his friends. If only Blaytz believed that was the true reason Lance had done something like this. In reality, the likely scenario was that Lance just wanted to feel useful and he’d risk his life to prove that he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Time for some action. Ever since I saw the clip of Pidge being a badass in season 4 I was like, I HAVE to work these scenes into my fic. There were be quite a few differences though ;)


	19. Dammit Pidge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge fights for information.
> 
> Pidge, Lance, and Hunk make a dangerous decision. 
> 
> Lance has his abilities tested. 
> 
> Things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer chapter for you guys! Fair warning, I kinda directly quote the show for a brief time but that's not going to become a habit don't worry so please don't hate me. 
> 
> I usually have so much to say in these notes but I'm sleepy. I'll just say again that I love you all and would give you all hugs and kisses if I could because your comments literally brighten my day. I get so excited every time I get to read and respond to you all.

\---

_Sector 2518. Pirate controlled system. Status: unsafe_  

 

“How ya doing Lance?” Hunk asked for what seemed like the three hundredth time after they’d gone through the wormhole. They were all disconcerted being out there drifting through the vast expanse of an unknown sector.

“Still fine,” Lance said tensely. He’d known it would be, but flying a real ship was so vastly different than the simulator.

Altean technology made it so the simulators were as close to real life as possible, but the difference wasn’t in the controls or the handling of the ship. For Lance it felt more mental. In the simulator he was reckless because as real as it all felt, it was still a controlled environment. He could take calculated risks and determine if they are viable strategies for real life scenarios without getting hurt.

Now the lives of his two closest friends in the universe were entirely in his hands. He would probably have a full breakdown once the whole thing was over, but right then he was violently shutting down every single emotion he had so that his attention was solely on the ship controls.

“Just don’t be reckless like you are in the simulator and we’ll be good,” Pidge chimed in. She sat at the back of the ship, eyes laser focused on the holo display where fluctuating readouts displayed the status of their cloaking. So far everything was remaining stable.

“I said I was fine.”

“I know but I’m just…”

“Pidge,” Lance huffed. The younger girl opened her mouth to keep going, but Hunk held up a hand to cut her off. He shook his head slightly and she snapped her mouth shut.

“Okay, according to my information, you can dock on the southwest side of the planet. I already sent a message to the vendor making a deal to buy some nano thermite titanium boron. When I get there I’ll offer to pay for the information instead.”

“Wait, how do you have enough money to buy super expensive explosives?” Hunk asked.

“Uhm, well…” Pidge scratched the back of her head.

“Pidge did you steal money from Trigel?” Hunk asked.

“No! I just took some but I’ll give it back, eventually.”

“Oh Gefith. Pidge we already stole an Altean ship and convinced the princess to wormhole us across the galaxy, and now you’re telling me you also stole a whole lot of money from your mom too? We’re going to be grounded for the rest of our lives!”

“To be fair, we were probably already going to be grounded for the rest of our lives,” Pidge said in a deadpan.

Three collective sighs filled the cockpit.

“Do you think they already know we’re gone?” Hunk spoke up again.

“Probably. Allura said that King Alfor would be able to tell when she opened the wormhole.”

“Guys strap in, we’re approaching atmo in five dobash,” Lance said. “I need you guys monitoring systems.”

“Alright. Just FYI, our cloaking isn’t going to be able to stand up to the heat of the atmospheric decent so we’ll become visible as soon as we start down, but this docking area is way out of the way of the main city hub. It might ping some of their alerts when we go down, but the ship is small enough that I don’t think they’ll see us as a threat. The cloaking takes some time to recharge after it’s deactivated, but it should be ready by the time we get the info and I can put it up as soon as we clear atmo on our ascent. Problem is that someone needs to stay here and monitor the program during the recharge.” Pidge said.

“I’ll stay. You’re the one who at least sort of knows what to expect in there,” Hunk said.

“Lance, you should stay here and make sure the ship is ready to go,” Pidge added.

“Noooooope. No. No. You are not going to talk to an explosives vendor in a slave system by yourself,” Lance immediately said.

“I can handle myself!”

“I know you can but you’re also thirteen and we have no idea what this vendor person is like. We came out here as a team, and you are not going off alone.”

“Ugh, fine,” Pidge pouted.

“Okay, everyone ready? Descending now.”

The other two voiced their affirmatives and strapped in, ready to spring into action is something went wrong, just like in their training.

The advanced technology of the ship made the atmospheric descent fairly smooth, but all three were struck silent for a moment as they watched the fiery trails weave around their ship. Of course they’d seen it before many times during their travels between the allied planets, but it was different this time. Now it was just them on their own descending onto a planet of thugs with no real escape plan if things went wrong except for ‘run like hell.’

“Clearing atmo now,” Lance murmured. The faint tremors of the ship stilled as they descended from the dirty blue sky.

“Jesus Christ this whole place looks like a giant slum,” Pidge said. With no need to monitor the cloaking system, she had her face pressed close to the window to better observe the planet they were landing on.

“Language,” Hunk said absently. He too was staring out the window. Lance wasn’t really in the position to appraise the scenery with them. He was carefully following the ping on his front display that was leading him towards the docking station Pidge had scoped out.

“Pidge, what’s comm chatter look like? Anyone freaking out about us being here?” Lance asked, trying to pull the younger girl’s attention back to the important stuff.

“Hold on,” she said. She dropped back into her seat and let her fingers fly over the various monitors.

“Tiny spike in chatter, but no alerts as far as I can tell.”

“Alright, I’m bringing us in.”

 

The landing was shaky, to say the least. The instructors at the Garrison always said that landing was the most difficult part of flying save for entering and exiting slipstreams. When the ship touched down, Pidge was cursing colorfully and Hunk looked a bit rattled, but overall it went pretty well for a first landing.

“Okay, everyone keep your comms on. Hunk, make sure the ship is locked behind us. We’ll let you know when we’re on our way back.”

“Got it. I’ll get the cloaking recharged so we can make a quick exit.”

“Good. Pidge, let’s head out,” Lance said. He adjusted the small blaster tucked under his coat and peeked over to make sure Pidge had her electric grappling hook. He nodded to himself when he saw the slight bulge under her baggy shirt.

They both swung cloaks over their shoulders and pulled the hoods up before making their way through the oddly silent streets. After a few ticks, Lance noticed Pidge glancing at him from the side.

“What?” he finally asked.

“I’ve never seen this side of you,” she said lightly.

“What side?”

“Well you’ve kind of been acting like our leader since we all got on the ship.”

Lance scoffed. “You both had your hands full with other things, I’m just being a pilot.”

“Looks more like you’re being a leader.”

There it was again. That word. “Leader.” It was something Lance would never be, something Lance could never be. He’d gained a sad sort of self-awareness since being rescued by Blaytz, and he knew that his brain didn’t work like how everyone else’s did. Every day of his life was just a build up to his next breakdown.

He could always feel them coming, as if with each new experience he was being filled up with water. At first it was just a little, easy to manage. But then he just kept getting fuller and fuller, and then he began feeling heavier and heavier. The more water there was, the harder it became for him to breath, but the experiences just kept coming even when he was already full and couldn’t handle anymore. Then he would shatter under the weight, breaking into teeny tiny pieces and he’d be broken for days until he finally found all the pieces to put back together. Then he’d be empty again, and things became easier to manage until the water came.

Lance knew he was broken. He was useless at almost everything, a dead weight on Blaytz and Lotor and Alfor and his friends. He knew it. He knew they knew it, but they were all such good people. They would never say it to him. They would never tell him it would be easier if he weren’t there.

And there Pidge was, telling him he was acting like a leader. Lance couldn’t lead anyone. Lance could barely handle someone bumping into him in the hallway without immediately fracturing into a panic attack. Pidge was young, but she was the most brilliant person he’d ever met. She was saying this to him because she wanted to make sure he was confident for the mission and wouldn’t get them all killed, Lance knew that.

“Well when you’re as attractive as I am, others will naturally want to follow,” Lance said instead. Pidge thought she was being subtle by helping bolster his confidence, so he’d put on the act so she didn’t know her time was being wasted.

“Lance,” Pidge groaned. She didn’t say anything more after that – instead she pulled up a holo display on her tablet. A blinking red triangle appeared on top of a route map of the planet. Pidge studied their surroundings for a moment, before looking back to the display.

“This way,” she said. She deactivated the display and began walking through the disconcertingly quiet streets. Lance’s eyes swept around them, from the round sentry bot that flew over their heads, to the sad looking figures sitting slumped in the shadows between buildings. So far nothing seemed to be a threat, but the atmosphere around them was tense. It was too quiet for a planet with a population in the billions.

Pidge stopped outside an industrial building and cast her eyes towards Lance. They just looked at each other in silence for a moment, each child gearing up for the coming meeting.

After a few ticks, they nodded and stepped inside the darkened building. Like everywhere else on the planet, it was silent inside, and dark. There were various storage containers and mechanical towers littered around, electronic doohickeys that pulsed with gentle light, and various cords in scattered heaps.

Their footfalls were silent as they wove through the building. Lance itched to pull his blaster, but he was resolved to follow Pidge’s lead. He wasn’t going to mess this up with her and he knew the young human had a plan.

They emerged into a room only a little brighter than the dimness of the rest of the warehouse. A greyish-brown skinned alien with a short orange Mohawk sat at a desk with his feet propped upon the surface and his hands crossed across his belly.

“Shop’s closed,” he barked the moment they appeared in his view.

“We’re just looking for directions to a show. I heard it’s _explosive_ ,” Pidge said. Lance resisted the urge to give the girl an incredulous look.

“So you’re the one looking for the nano thermite titanium boron. Very expensive. Difficult to procure, I assure you.”

“Keep it,” Pidge said.

“You backing outta our agreement?” The alien shot forward in his seat and Lance tensed, ready to grab his blaster. It was only a slight headshake from Pidge that made him keep his hands by his side.

“Altering it, in your favor. I’ll still give you the money and in return you tell me who is on this video and where to find them.” Pidge activated her holo display with the still image of the freedom fighter who was escorting Matt of the ship.

The alien relaxed a fraction, but he went cagey at the question.

“Why would I know those people?”

“Because they use nano thermite titanium boron and you’re the only person in this section of the galaxy that seems to be selling it. From what I’ve heard, you’ve dominated the market our here for the past ten deca-phoeb’s.”

“I’ve had a run of good luck selling things of value, but even though I’ll sell to the highest bidder, the pirates in this area don’t much like it when people get ahold of embarrassing videos such as those. Bad for business if slaves get it in their head that they can go escaping whenever they want. They’d probably pay a lot to know how you got your hands on that footage.” The alien leapt to his feet and drew two swords. Even Lance had to pause in confusion for a moment. It didn’t add up that the alien would attack them and sell them out to pirates when he was the one who had sold explosives to freedom fighters in the first place.

“Really? This is how we’re doing it? All I want is the information.”

“Yeah,” Lance chimed in. “What gives? You are already selling to the freedom fighters. Why not just sell them out to the pirates from the beginning?”

“I gotta maintain a reputation with my loyal customers, keeps ‘em coming back and gives me a reliable cash flow. You both ain’t from here and since you don’t want the explosives you probably won’t be coming back, so there’s nothin’ in it for me to sell you the info. I’d make more turning you over to the pirates than I would with your lousy one time deal.”

“Come on man, can’t you just make this easy on us?” Lance tried. Instead of answering the alien leapt across his desk, swords at the ready. As Lance pulled his blaster, Pidge kicked out at the desk just as the alien’s foot planted there in his leap.

The sudden shift of the desk cause him to loose his balance and fall in a graceless heap on the floor. Lance lowered his blaster. This was actually more sad than anything. He and Pidge were kids but this guy didn’t seem used to a proper fight.

When he got up to go after Pidge again, the smaller girl pulled her electric grappling hook. She released it and sent the spade tip forward to latch onto a heavy metal box on the desk, then retracted it just as quickly. The hooked end pulled the box forward so it slammed into the back of the orange haired alien’s head. He was unconscious immediately.

“Okay that was really cool, did you mean to do that?” Lance asked. Pidge crouched in front of their unconscious would-be foe and nodded.

“Yeah, sure I did. He just had to do it the hard way.”

“Can you still get the info you need? Do you think he kept computer records?”

“Doubtful. I don’t think guys like these really want people knowing who they are selling their illegal explosives to.”

“Well then, let’s tie him up and get some answers,” Lance said. Pidge grinned and set about doing just that.

 

When the broker woke up he was pretty quick to tell the pair what they wanted. The blaster Lance held to his head might have helped, even if the threatening action did make the altean feel a little sick.

When Pidge confirmed the data received on her holo display, she turned her back to walk out, Lance close behind.

“Thanks for the intel,” she said flippantly. The alien just growled at their retreating backs.

“Not to be a downer, but that felt too easy,” Lance murmured as they walked back through the streets. Pidge finished typing a heads up to Hunk that they were on their way back, then nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s just hope we can get out of here before he gets free.” Pidge picked up her pace. Both wanted to give up and sprint back to their ship and escape the oppressive silence of the planet, but neither could ignore the sentry drones buzzing around. Who was monitoring the planet and why was a mystery, but they wanted to avoid raising suspicion regardless.

As much as Blaytz and the other allies talked about the Universal Fates and how they had brought Lance and the kids into their lives, Lance had never placed much stock in the whole idea.

Yet, a part of him felt like _maybe_ there was something to that whole thing when Pidge, Hunk, and him made it off the planet unscathed. The moment they cleared atmo the cloaking shimmered back into place and they were once again invisible.

In the silence that followed, none of them knew what to say. They’d gone to the outer rims of the galaxy into deeply dangerous territory, and made it out with their information in less than a varga. It was almost comically simple.

“So, Pidge, what did you find out?” Hunk finally asked. All of them would have stayed stuck in their own personal reflections had Hunk not shaken it off and spoken.

“Looks like there’s a small moon and few hours away by slip stream that the freedom fighters use as an outpost base. Last time the broker had contact with them, that’s where he had the explosives delivered to and the freedom fighter with Matt on the video should be there.”

“That’s totally awesome. Let’s call Allura and get home so we can tell this to Trigel,” Hunk said. He looked immensely pleased at the prospect of leaving.

“Well, I was thinking maybe we should just go,” Pidge said, looking anywhere but at her two friends who now had their eyes firmly fixed on her.

“Go where?” Hunk asked.

“To that moon. It’s really close by.”

“Close by slip steam, and we promised Allura that we’d go home right after we talked to the vendor!”

“I know but he’s so close, I can feel it! The freedom fighters are always moving around. There’s no guarantee that they’ll still be at this location if we have to go back, talk to our parents, deal with our punishments, then turn around and coordinate a mission.”

“I want to help but you realize that piloting a small ship into a slip stream is like, one of the most difficult things a pilot can do? Big ships are easy because they can absorb a lot of the shock from the sudden speed and change in environment. Small ships can get ripped apart, tossed out, or all kinds of other things if the pilot isn’t careful. We’ve only done slipstream training like, three times at the Garrison. I don’t know if I can get us into one safely,” Lance said.

“Yeah, but you passed every one of those trainings,” Pidge pointed out.

“Barely!”

“Barely passing is still passing. You didn’t kill us in the simulator, you won’t kill us out here.”

“What about Allura? We promised her we’d go right back. If we leave this sector and something goes wrong, no one will know where to find us.”

“I’ll update the coordinates in our distress beacon. Our ship so much as gets looked at wrong by a pirate ship and a distress signal with our location will transmit back to Altea. Come on, we are already out here. A few vargas is nothing.”

“Dammit Pidge,” Lance cursed. “Fine.”

“Allura is going to kill us,” Hunk moaned.

“We’ve already been over this. Pretty much everyone is going to kill us if pirates don’t get to it first. Won’t matter as long as we get Matt.” Pidge sounded fierce as she spoke, and she ignored the skeptical looks both older boys gave her.

“Input the coordinates into the system,” Lance sighed out. Pidge’s hands went to work and she called out her completion a few ticks later. Lance took a few long, deep breaths. He wasn’t good enough for this, but he wasn’t going to kill his friends. He just had to put himself together long enough to break into the slipstream.

“Will this affect our cloaking?” Lance asked, not at all trying to stall. Nope. Not even a little.

“It shouldn’t. The slipstream doesn’t have the same burn as an atmo descent.”

“Alright. Prep for entrance into the slipstream. I need you both keeping a close eye on systems. Tell me about any alerts immediately. I need to know if we veer off course even slightly during the entrance, or if the ship exhibits any signs of stress. Hunk I don’t have practice with this so a few things might rattle loose. Fix whatever’s most important and ignore anything that can wait until we exit or are back on Altea. Pidge if it’s really rough it could knock out some of our systems so keep an eye out.”

“Got it,” they chorused.

“Jumping into the slipsteam,” Lance said.

 

\---

 

A slow, pulsing red light filled the silent cockpit of the ship. Lance groaned a blinked slowly, but his vision didn’t clear and he felt something wet slide down his forehead and into his eye as he hung slumped in the crossed safety belts of the pilot chair.

He brought his hand up slowly to touch the warm wetness, and when he brought it back down his good eyes registered the dark red color. He should have been alarmed, but his thoughts remained slow and sluggish.

Finally, after he was done staring at the blood on his hand, his eyes flicked back up to the front window and registered the whirling colors and brightness of the universe passing by them in the slipsteam. Vaguely he registered that they had made it safely, but the blood seemed out of place.

He unbuckled and tried to get up, but a wave of dizziness had him groaning and slumping back into his chair. The sound, however, alerted the other passengers that he was awake and Hunk came barreling foreword.

“Lance!” the bigger boy yelled.

“Hey big guy. What did I miss?”

“We made it into the slip stream, but the ship became stressed. A piece of the ceiling panel came off and hit you – luckily the ship was already mostly stabilized. Pidge and I have been trying to restore system function ever since we got in.”

“How long have I been out?” Lance’s foggy brain tried to process the information Hunk was telling him.

“Only for a few minutes. I was going to come back and clean up your head once I finished checking the ship.”

“Okay buddy I’m a little too out of it to understand your earth time system. What’s a minute again?”

“Sorry, you’ve been out for like, five or six dobash.”

“Ah.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Dizzy. Foggy. Kinda slow.”

“Yeah buddy you probably have a concussion.”

“Probably. I don’t remember anything after we entered the slipstream. Is the ship okay?”

“We’re fine,” Pidge called. “Lighting system is shot though which is why we got the creepy red lights. Emergency lighting is the only thing still active.”

“Life support?”

“All good. Will you be okay to keep flying?”

“I’m going to have to be. Do we have anything I can use to get the blood outta my eyes?”

“Oh yeah!” Hunk disappeared. There was a clanking and then he returned carrying a medical box. He pulled out some bandages and helped clean up the gash on Lance’s forehead, then handed him a damp rag so the altean could wipe his eye.

When the wound and Lance’s face was clean, Hunk wrapped a bandage around Lance’s head, then handed the smaller boy a water pouch.

“Okay, it didn’t look too bad after the blood was gone,” Hunk said.

“Head wounds bleed a lot,” Pidge piped up again.

Lance hadn’t even known how thirsty he was until the pouch appeared. He was in the process of chugging it when Hunk’s hand came out to pull it away.

“Easy bud, you need to take it slow. The head wounds gunna make you nauseous and if you drink that fast you’re going to throw it all back up.”

“I know, I’ve had way worse hits to the head than this,” Lance croaked absently. He didn’t even realize what he was said until Hunk’s face twisted in horror and sadness. It was the look everyone always got whenever he talked about what he went through as a kid.

“Well Pidge says we have about three vargas in the slipstream before we make it to that moon. Try to get some sleep. It should be okay for you to rest for a little while but we’ll wake you up after two vargas. When I was younger I once fell and hit my head on the ship and my mom told me she had to wake me up every two or three hours to be safe,” Hunk said, his voice full of false cheer.

Lance was too tired to argue. As the pilot he need to be awake and alert, but it looked like the auto pilot systems on the ship were stable and they were still cloaked, so Lance began to drift off in the upright pilots chair without even responding to Hunk’s words.

 

The world had a distinctly different tinge when Lance woke up. His head swirled, and once again his eyes wouldn’t focus – the world was just a soft blur of gray and brown. There was also noise all around, which was strange for the interior of a ship. Was it radio chatter from an open channel?

Lance brought his hands up to scrub his eyes, but had to push his long hair out of the way first.

Long hair? His hands stilled in their scrubbing. His heart began to beat too loudly. He began to tremble. His stomach knotted and cramped and nausea bubbled up.

He knew the noise. He recognized the awful din. His eyes opened and focused. He stared at his distinctly smaller hands. They were shaking, dirty, and some of his fingers were broken. His nails were cracked and bloody.

Lance’s eyes shifted from his hands to the floor below them. Gray. Steel. Dirty. Cold. Not wanting to, but not being able to not, his eyes swept up and he saw the bars of his cage. He was in his cage.

A sob broke out of his mouth. He’d woken up. He’d really woken up. He was still there. He was still in his cage. He’d never left.

Blood dripped from his head. That’s right. His owner had kicked him in the head. He’d been unconscious. He’d dreamed everything.

He sobbed louder. He pushed foreword and wrapped his hands, broken fingers and all, around the bars of the cage. He rattled them and just screamed. He couldn’t be back. It wasn’t fair. Why hadn’t he just died? Or stayed unconscious in his dream where he had a family and friends and could fly amongst the stars.

“Lance!” his owner shouted. He was angry that Lance was making noise. He always got angry if Lance cried too loudly.

The boy flinched hard and let go of the bars. It didn’t register to him right then that his owner never called him by his name. He just went to the center of his cage and pulled his knees to his chest while he sobbed.

His uncle was coming for him. He knew that. His dad had promised. He just had to be strong and wait for Uncle Alfor. Except the Altean king wasn’t looking for him.

Lance paused. How did he know that? His dad promised him that Uncle Alfor was looking for him, but Lance couldn’t get rid of the idea that he actually wasn’t.

“Lance!” the voice called again. It didn’t sound like the grating, broken glass voice of his owner. It was smoother, and it wasn’t angry.

“Come on buddy, wake up,” the voice said again. But Lance was awake? He could see the familiar street, the cage bars, the dirty sky. He could hear the screams and following laughs.

“Pidge I don’t know what to do!” the voice said. Pidge? Hunk!

           

Lance jerked awake with a cry. The ship was still awash with the gentle, pulsing red glow of the emergency lights, but he was no longer in the pilots seat. He was on the floor, halfway sitting in Hunk’s lap. His cheeks were wet with tears, and he couldn’t stop the sobs shuddering out of him and the violent shivers that wracked his body. He turned his face into Hunk’s shirt and sobbed, too panicked to even be embarrassed.

Hunk brought up his hand to pat the Altean’s hair. He was murmuring something in a language that Lance didn’t understand and gently rocking back and forth.

“I’m sorry,” Lance stuttered out.

“Don’t apologize,” Hunk said softly.

“What happened?” Pidge asked from somewhere to his left. Her voice was noticeably more gentle than it usually was.

“I was back. I was dreaming about the time my owner kicked my head and it felt like I was really back there. My head hurt just like how it did back then. I thought I was back and had dreamed all of this,” Lance said.

“Jesus,” Pidge muttered. Lance didn’t know what that meant, but hearing what sound like an expletive coming out of Pidge’s mouth actually calmed him down a little. It was so normal, so familiar.

Some of the trembling stopped, and Hunk helped him to sit upright. The world spun, but stayed mostly in focus. Lance began swiping at the tears track on his face.

“You going to be alright?” Hunk asked. Lance nodded.

“Yeah. I’m really sorry. Sometimes my dreams feel so real, but that’s the worst it’s ever been. I could _feel_ the bars of my cage when I touched them.” Lance shook his head to clear away the thoughts, but the abrupt motion had his head spinning and he pitched to the side before Hunk steadied him.

“Stop apologizing dammit,” Pidge snapped. “You have literally no reason to be apologizing.”

Lance just nodded, but knew that as soon as the effects of his dream and the concussion wore off he’d be burning with shame for having a meltdown at a time like this.

 

Pidge stood up and paced to the back of the ship while Hunk eased Lance back into the pilots seat. Lance was out there because of her, risking a return to slavery, and she’d manipulated him into it. She’d known that if she went to Lance and begged him, the boy wouldn’t be able to refuse her.

At the time it had seemed necessary to get what she needed – now Lance had a concussion, they were leaving the area where help would know to go if something happened, and Pidge couldn’t bring herself to put an end to the whole thing.

Matt was so close. The cloaking had survived the rough entrance into the slipstream and the moon was less than an hour away. All they had to do was talk to the freedom fighters and then she would know for certain where her brother was.

Pidge looked back over to where Hunk was quietly talking to a still distraught Lance. Guilt tugged at her. She was putting her brother over Lance’s wellbeing and it wasn’t fair to the Altean, but it was too late to stop. She refused. In the future she would try to find some way to make it up to her friend – maybe she could talk to Blaytz when they got back and explain how she’d manipulated Lance into helping her – but right then she would not lose sight of her goal. She just hoped that the damage to Lance, physical and mental, would be minimal by the time they were done.

“Guys, we’re going to need to exit the slipsteam in about ten dobash,” Pidge said after taking a look at the tracking monitor.

“Do you feel well enough to get us out?” Hunk murmured to Lance.

“I’ll be fine.” Lance’s wrecked voice was at odds with his affirmative, but neither Pidge nor Hunk questioned it. They needed him to pilot the ship, and doubting him wouldn’t help anything.

“You guys go to your seats and begin preparations. I’ll start gearing us to drop out,” Lance spoke again. This time his voice carried more of the authoritative tone he’d adopted at the start of the mission.

Pidge smiled to herself. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Lance he was acting like a leader. He didn’t even seem to be aware that he had unconsciously taken control of the mission. She just hoped he actually recognized how much potential he had.

“Alright. Hold on, taking us out now,” Lance said. The ship shuddered and lurched, and then they dropped out of slipstream and saw a swarm of pirate ships attacking the moon of the freedom fighters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooooo boy, these kiddos are in such deep trouble. Poor Lance. Why do I enjoy making him suffer so much?
> 
> Next up, Pidge guilts the team into more bad decisions, and we get to see the allies and Lotor be badasses.


	20. We've Come This Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge, Lance, and Hunk make a risky call.
> 
> Pidge get's new information. 
> 
> Trigel and her allies search for their children. 
> 
> The search for Matt nearly comes to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa okay I know I promised a Pidge/Matt reunion in this chapter, but then I hit ten pages without him showing up and realized I needed to break the reunion into its own chapter. I'm so sorry! I promise we'll actually see Matt in the next chapter, and boy it's going to be an intense chapter. 
> 
> Also, Klance, next chapter, you're going to get it. Boy have I been itching soooo much to write it. This is, after all, a Klance fic (I know, I know, right now it's mostly just action and platonic angst but I swear this is actually going to be a full on Klance fic!!) This whole arc is going to spur things on in that department ;)
> 
> Okay so this is another one of my rambling notes. Last couple things: sorry for the delay on this chapter. I've been exhausted and it's been hard to write. But it's a nice long one for everyone!
> 
> And of course, to my lovely readers, I adore you. Please don't be taken aback when I call you honey, darling, sweetheart, or any other term of endearment in my comment replies cause that's literally just how I am and I can't help it. I just can't get over how kind and sweet you all are. You give me life and motivation!

\---

 

            “Holy shit!” Pidge shouted.

            “Ohhhhh this is bad. This is really bad,” Hunk moaned.

            “We need to get out of here now,” Lance said. His voice betrayed absolutely no emotion.

            “No! We have to help!” Pidge said. Lance hissed out a breath and slammed a button on his panel to keep their cloaked ship in its current position before turning to stare at his younger friend.

            “This is a transport ship,” he snapped.

            “It’s combat rated!” Pidge fired back.

            “Yes! Designed for self-defense! Our munitions are limited and we aren’t built for mobility. If we break the cloaking now those ships will turn on us and none of us have enough experience to fight them. We need to call Allura. Maybe she can help us convince King Alfor to send some fighters this way.”

            “There isn’t time! The person who knows Matt’s whereabouts is down there and if we leave they could die. There are only three ships, we can help.”

            “Or we could die, or be boarded. I came with you to help save your brother, not to engage in space battles with pirates.”

            Tears welled in Pidge’s eyes and she was ashamed. She was distraught. She was desperate. She was frustrated, but her tears weren’t because of that. If she cried Lance was more likely to give in. She’d already manipulated her way through this self-assigned mission and all of it would be for nothing. There was no way Pidge was leaving this sector without information on Matt.

            “Please. Matt could even be down there, with them.”

            Guilt welled in her the moment she saw Lance’s reaction to her tears. For a moment his own blank façade cracked and he looked liked the terrified fifteen year old that he was. One glance at Hunk showed him looking not much better.

            Later, after all this was done, she would have to confront what she had done to her friends. She would confront her own feelings – her own absolute, abject terror at this whole situation. Later, but not right then. Matt was her sole priority and she would not let the whole trip be for nothing.

            “Hunk, open a comm line to the moon if you can. We need to know if they have any defenses or ways to help,” Lance said. His mask slipped back into place and he turned back to his controls.

            “Pidge I need you on targeting. I don’t have enough flight experience to do evasive maneuvers, targeting, and firing at the same time. Lock me onto a target and I’ll pull the trigger.”

           Pidge swallowed the ‘thank you’ that had bubbled up. Lance didn’t need her thanks, he needed her to do what he’d asked, so she sat back at her station and brought the targeting systems online.

          “Lance! I got something!” Hunk called.

          “Open the line,” the pilot said immediately.

         “Kraytah moon, Orpito 6, this is Lance of Altea aboard a combat rated transport ship. We are aware of your current situation and would like to lend assistance. Do you have any defense capabilities?” Lance said.

_“Altea?!? What the hell are you guys doing all the way out here?”_ A tinny voice filtered through the cockpit from the open communications channel.

          “Not important. Do you have any defense capabilities?”

_“We have a couple ships but we’re pinned down inside! We have a transport we’re trying to get off planet and our escort ships are combat rated, but with all the fire coming from the pirates we won’t be able to get anything up past atmo.”_

           “How long do you need to get them in the air?”

_“Not long, only about five dobash! They are already prepped and ready, we just need a break from the fire!”_ The freedom fighter’s statement was punctuated with a loud ‘boom’ and yelling.

           “We’ll draw their fire but you have to get those ships in the air. Our combat capabilities are limited and we can’t hold them by ourselves for long.”

_“Understood. You draw that fire away, we’ll get our ships up there to help you in 5 dobash, no later.”_

            “Alright, get ready. We’ll call out as soon as we engage.” Lance pressed a button to mute the comms before addressing his team. “Pidge! Is the targeting system up?”

            “We’re ready,” she called back.

            “I know this is probably a long shot, but can we stay cloaked as we engage?”

            “No, firing our weapons will automatically disable it.”

             “Alright, I’m going to fly in close. Keep the cloaking on. Hunk, as soon as Pidge has locked onto a target drop the cloaking and we’ll engage. We’ll probably be able to take out one ship but the other two we’ll probably just need to evade until the freedom fighters get their ships up. Both of you strap in.”

           “Lance, with your head wound the evasive maneuvers are going to be really hard on you,” Hunk said.

            “It’s going to have to be fine,” Lance said. His voice wavered slightly.

            “Okay,” Pidge said, but her voice came out weaker than anticipated. “Okay,” she said again more loudly.

            “Alright I’m bringing us in,” Lance said. He pressed the button to unmute the comms.

            “Orpito 6, we are engaging the pirates now. As soon as you stop taking fire get those ships up,” Lance said.

_“We’re ready,”_ said the voice at the other end.

             “We’re locked on,” Pidge said. The display in front of Lance lit up with a red triangle transposed on the nearest pirate ship. It was remaining mostly stationary while firing down at the moon.

            The ship went quiet. All Lance could hear was a faint static in his ears. With his thumb he flicked off the black casing that covered the firing buttons on his controls. His heart was pounding, but he wasn’t exactly sure if he was breathing.

            “Drop cloaking,” he said.

            “It’s down, fire now!” Pidge called. The breath Lance took seemed to last three deca-phoeb’s and 1/100th of a tick at the same time. The button to fire was both stiff and disturbingly easy to press.

            The ship shuddered at the fire. The pirate ship burst apart in front of his eyes. It was silent. In the vacuum of space everything was silent. Lance thought there should have been noise. Screeching metal maybe.

          “They’re locking onto us,” Pidge shouted and sound rushed back into the world. Lance pushed the ship into a steep dive as the remaining two pirate ships maneuvered in their direction. A shot went wide across their left side and Lance pulled up and the ship abruptly shifted in an upward climb.

            The dance continued and for the kids it felt as if vargas had gone by instead of only a couple dobash. Lance’s head spun and his eyes were having trouble staying in focus, but he didn’t have the luxury of taking a break.

            “Pidge can you lock onto anything?” Lance asked.

             “No they are more agile than we are. With all our moving around I can’t pin them.”

            “Oh no,” Lance said. The pirate ships branched away so they were on either side of the altean ship. Both fired at the same time.

            Lance jerked the ship down and to the right, narrowly missing both shots, but the pirates anticipated their move. One of them angled down and had them in their direct line of fire. The kids stared, motionless, terrified, and then the pirate ship was gone. A burst of flame and scattered debris replaced it.

_“Wooohooo!”_ sounded a voice over the comms. Three new ships appeared on their radar. The last pirate ship abruptly ignored the altean ship and began evasive maneuvers of their own, but the freedom fighter pilots had significantly more combat experience and it wasn’t long before it to was turned into a scattered field of scrap.

           “Thanks for the help there,” Lance said.

_“We should be thanking you! Now tell me why and Altean transport ship is all the way on the outer rims alone.”_

            “We need to talk to you all, actually. Do we have permission to land?” Lance asked.

_“Need to talk to us? Well that’s mighty interesting. Go ahead and follow us in, just be aware we don’t have much time. We need to clear our people out and get our transport in the air before more pirates show up.”_

            “It’s not going to take long,” Lance assured.

 

           Lance’s second landing was just about as shaky as the first. A detail not overlooked by the freedom fighters waiting to see who had come along and saved them. Not a one was expecting the three children who came walking off the ship.

            A burly alien stalked up to them and towered above the three adolescents. He had his arms cross and he kept glancing behind them towards the ship entrance as if he expected an adult to come walking out behind them.

           “Is it just you three?” he asked. He focused on Lance first, his eyes fixed on the bandage wrapped around his head and the way he swayed slightly where he stood.

           “Yes,” Pidge said simply. The alien looked at the smallest, and youngest, of the group. His brows furrowed.

            “What are three children doing out here alone in this sector. You all are absolutely mad!”

            “I’m looking for my brother, please. We just need to talk to this woman.” Pidge pulled out her tablet and brought up the holo display to show the picture.

            “Te-osh?” the man said. He brought hand up and scrubbed at his eyes. “As curious as I am, we don’t have time for me to sit here and figure out why a bunch of adolescents are out here. Te-osh is on the transport ship. Go talk to her and then get the hell out of this sector.” He pointed back to the large transport docked behind them.

           “Thank you!” Pidge took off at a near run.

           “I’m going to go back to the ship and charge up the cloaking,” Hunk said quietly. Lance nodded and moved to follow after Pidge, but the big alien grabbed his shoulder before he could move.

           “You come here,” he said. Lance flinched hard at the sudden contact. His heart rate sped up and suddenly it became harder to breath. It was almost if that hand on his shoulder was around his neck instead.

            His reaction didn’t go unnoticed and the man let him go and took a few steps backwards with his hands raised.

           “Relax kid, I’m not going to hurt you. You’re Lance right? The pilot? I’m Ozar and you need something for that head wound or you’re not going to be able to fly out of here. Come sit here.” Ozar gestured to some crates nearby. Lance was trying hard to tamp down the panic attack that was trying to claw its way out. Oddly enough the concussion was helping a little – it kept him feeling fuzzy and a little distant. The panic was having trouble taking hold just as much as all of Lance’s other thoughts were struggling.

            Lance walked over and sat on one of the crates while Ozar walked over to another and began digging around inside. He returned with a syringe shaped object that had Lance scrambling backwards. Once again Ozar stopped moving, and realization flashed over his face.

            “How long were you a slave, kid?” the alien asked softly.

            “How did you know?”

             Ozar laughed, but it was a dry and humorless sound. “I’ve been a freedom fighter most my life. I’ve rescued a lot of slaves. I know the signs.”

            “Seven deca-phoeb’s.”

            “Quiznak,” Ozar cursed. “Where?”

             “Uhm,” Lance looked down and fidgeted. “Elkbrugidus.”

             “You’re the one who escaped Elkbrugidus?!?”

             “You know about that?”

             “Of course we do! Our spies said the whole damn planet was in an uproar about it – you were the first slave to ever make it out of that place. What the quiznak are you doing out in this sector?”

             “We need to find someone.”

              “I don’t care who you need to find. Three children have no business out in this sector, and you actually engaged in combat! I don’t know how you are even sane after spending seven deca-phoeb’s on Elkbrugidus – then again you may not be considering you came back to this section of the galaxy in a probably stolen Altean ship.”

             “Hey! We saved you! And I’m fine.”

             “And we’re grateful, don’t you think we aren’t, but you started panicking because I touched your shoulder,” Ozar deadpanned. Lance’s face flushed red and he looked down. He heard Ozar sigh.

             “Listen, I’m not a damned babysitter and as much as I want to contact Altea and tell them where to find their missing ship and probably three of their missing children, I don’t have the luxury to wait ninety quintants for them to come collect you. After you all get whatever you need from Te-osh, go home because if you get captured, you’ll go back to Elkbrugidus and they will torture you very publically for escaping.”

              Lance didn’t say anything for a tick. He knew of course. He was well aware of the public shows put on with slaves who tried escaping. They were tortured in every way imaginable: physically, sexually, emotionally, mentally, and it lasted many quintants. If the slave was close to death they’d pump them full of healing medicines, just enough to keep them alive, then continue until they were finally allowed to die.

              All the slaves on the planet were forced to watch when it happened, and as much as his own abuse haunted him, those public shows haunted him even more.

             “Trust me, I know,” Lance said in a small voice.

             “Then take my advice and leave this sector. Now, let me give you this to help your head.” Lance looked up and saw Ozar gesture to the syringe. The altean simply nodded and tilted his head to the side so his neck was bared.

               Ozar stepped forward and pressed the device to his neck. There was a click, a vague stinging sensation, and then some of the cobwebs cleared from Lance’s mind. It was the first time since he’d woken up in the slipstream that the world stopped swaying around him.

             “This isn’t going to actually heal anything, but it’ll lessen the side effects of your concussion. Now I have to get back to preparing,” Ozar said. An idea suddenly struck Lance.

             “Wait!” he said before the big alien could walk off. “You’re a pilot right?”

             “Yes.”

             “I need to ask you some advice about slipstreams.”

 

            Lance and Ozar were in deep conversation by the time Pidge came running back from the large transport ship. She was too excited to wonder what the pair could be discussing.

            “Lance we have something!” Pidge said breathlessly.

            “Good, now all of you get back on your ship and get asses out of this sector,” Ozar growled before Lance could say anything.

            “Thank you,” Lance said. Ozar shook his head.

            “All things considered, we should still be thanking you. Just get home safely.”

            Pidge and Lance nodded and stepped back onto the ship. Pidge was nearly vibrating with excitement and Hunk stared at her with something close to dread.

            “We aren’t going home, are we?” the larger boy moaned.

            “We can’t, not now! Te-osh knew Matt! He’s been helping the freedom fighters! Look.” Pidge held out a device. “This transponder can track their people in the field and Te-osh already keyed it to find Matt. We just need to follow the signal to him.”

            “How far away is he?” Lance asked.

            “It’s not that specific until you get closer, but I’d say less than an hour by slipstream.”

            “You want to go into a slipstream again? Are you nuts? The last time we almost lost Lance and some of our critical systems!”

            “So now we know what to expect.”

            “Lance?” Hunk turned his exasperation towards the pilot.

            “We’ve come this far. If he’s really so close then we should find him.”

            “For the record, I just want to say again how bad of an idea this is,” Hunk said.

            “Noted,” Lance replied. “Let’s get into the air. Is the cloaking ready for when we clear atmo?”

            “It’s ready,” Hunk sighed. Everyone strapped in and Lance got them into the air. Their cloaking shimmered into place as soon as the atmo burn stopped, and Lance got them into the slipstream with decidedly more ease than the first time. Pidge scanned for damaged systems, but so far everything important was turning up green.

            Unfortunately, none of the three children remembered Allura’s promise – if she didn’t hear from them in three vargas, she would give their coordinates to her father. It had been five vargas since they’d left, and their parents had already discovered that they were no longer where they’d promised to stay.

 

\----

 

            “Lieutenant Ozar.” The lieutenant turned as freedom fighter ran up to him.

            “What is it?”

            “We just received a communications request from a contact in the Dalterion Belt.”

            “What? Why are they contacting us? Do they know that we are evacuating this moon?”

            “I don’t know, but it’s urgent. They want to speak with you immediately.”

            “Right, lead the way.”

            The pair broke into a half-jog, all the way inside the command building. Ozar cleared the room before accepting the incoming video request. When he saw the face that appeared his back snapped straight.

            “Madame Trigel!”

            “Lieutenant Ozar, I know it’s risky to contact you but we need your help. Have any of your people spotted a small Altean ship anywhere in your sector or surrounding sectors?”

            Ozar’s stomach dropped. “Would this ship happen to be carrying three alteanoid children?”

            “You’ve seen them? Were they on Orpito 6?”

            “Briefly, but they’re gone now. They actually saved our asses – we were being pinned down by pirate ships firing from orbit. They showed up and drew the fire away so we could get our ships in the air.”

            “Quiznak, they actually engaged in combat,” Trigel cursed. This was only the second time Ozar had ever spoken with the monarch of the Dalterion Belt, but he knew by reputation that she was always composed and fearless. Now she was terrified.

            “Madame I’m not sure what’s going on, but the children were fine. The Altean boy had a head wound from a shaky entrance into a slipstream, but it’s not severe.”

            There was a sound from away from the camera, and then Trigel was being unceremoniously shoved to the side. Ozar’s eyebrows shot up when he recognized the blue skinned alien who came into view.

            “Blaytz,” Ozar said by way of greeting. It’d been many deca-phoeb’s since he’d seen the nalquodi.

            “Ozar, you said Lance was injured. Are you sure he was alright?”

            “He has a concussion, but he was lucid. Listen we need to evacuate this moon so I don’t have time to sit around here and play this questioning game. Why are these three of such concern?”

            “They’re our adoptive children: Blaytz’s, Gyrgan’s, and mine,” Trigel said while gently pushing Blaytz aside and out of the video frame

            “Quiznak.”

            “Do you know where they’ve gone?”

            “I told them to go home but I doubt they listened. All I know is that the small one talked to one of our officers, Te-osh. I don’t know what about.”

            “Can you please summon her? I understand the urgency of your situation but we need to find our children.”

            “One moment.” Ozar stalked over to the door and opened it. Freedom fighters scrambled around packing supplies into ships.

            “Someone get me Te-osh, now!” Ozar shouted. A couple freedom fighters stopped, looked at him, then took off running towards the large transport. It took only a few dobash for the tall Kythran to come jogging up.

            “Ozar, what’s wrong?” she asked.

            “Come inside,” Ozar said. He led her inside and watched her stiffen in surprise when she recognized Trigel’s face on the holo screen.

            “Madame Trigel!”

            “You must be Te-osh. I’ll be brief. Ozar said my daughter came to see you about something. We need to know where they went.”

            “You’re daughter? Pidge?”

            “Yes.”

            “Madame I’m sorry, I had no idea she was your daughter. She came to me asking about her brother who I rescued from pirates over three deca-phoeb’s ago. I gave her a device that would allow her to track her brother Matt, but even I don’t know where he is. The devices are short range and only reveal coordinates as you follow the path.”

            Trigel’s face fell and for a moment the monarch looked exceedingly tired and worried.

            “Thank you. At least we know they’re safe. I know it’s a lot to ask, but if any of your people spot them again please contact us. We will leave you to your evacuation.”

            “Thank you.”

            The connection severed and for a few ticks Ozar and Te-osh just stood there in silence. They’d had two runaway princes and a princess of some of the most powerful allied planets in the galaxy right in front of them, and they’d let them go.

            “What the quiznak is going on,” Te-osh said.

            “I have no idea and we don’t have the time to figure it out. I’ll send out a request to our people to keep an eye out for the ship, but we need to prioritize our people first. You go back and get that transport in the air.”

            “Yes sir,” Te-osh said. Just like that they cleared their minds of runaway children and distant allies. Their priority had to be their own people, although both had to briefly wonder how the children had gotten all the way out to them in the first place.

 

\---

 

            “Okay, we need to exit the slipstream in five dobash.”

            “Uh, Pidge I hate to say it but scanners are picking up nothing in that area. No planets, no moons, not even an asteroid. It’s just empty space.”

            “This says Matt is there. Maybe they have a way to hide their base from scanners,” Pidge said. Neither Hunk nor Lance voiced how unlikely that was.

            “Okay,” Lance said quietly. Although whatever Ozar had given him helped the dizziness, Lance’s head was starting to ache and he felt exhausted. It had been six vargas since they’d left Altea and none of them had rested since, Lance’s bout with concussion induced unconsciousness notwithstanding.

            “Alright, we need to exit,” Pidge said. Lance voiced another quiet affirmative and pulled them out.

            “Oh Gefith,” Hunk whispered. Everyone’s breath stilled. In front of them was the hallowed out hull of a dead spaceship. Debris was floating around it and judging from the burn marks it looked as if the ship had been blown up.

            The front part of the ship, near the command deck, was still mostly intact but there were no signs of life. Hunk ran the scan again. And again. And again. Each time it beeped to signal an absence of life signs.

            Pidge had gone pale. Her already large eyes were huge behind her large round glasses. She barely breathed. She just sat there and took in the space ship wreckage.

            “We need to go out there,” she whispered.

            “Pidge,” Hunk said softly. “There are no life signs.”

            “No!” she shrieked. She shoved the little black device at Hunk so he was forced to stare at the pulsing red triangle that signaled they’d arrived at their destination.

            “It says he’s here! Maybe he got out but couldn’t take his locator! The ship should automatically monitor crew life signs. If any survived and got away the ship would show me. I can get on and get the data!”

            “Okay,” Lance said before Hunk could speak again. “I’ll go with you.”

            “Lance, none of us have ever done a space walk before.”

            “We’ve done plenty of zero G simulations. The suits in here have jet thrusters and with the size of our ship we can get fairly close to the bridge. It would be a short, easy trip. Pidge, let’s suit up, and grab what you need to hack the ship’s systems.”

            “Okay.” Pidge immediately rushed to where the vacuum suits were stored. Lance looked at Hunk, his face solemn.

            “This is a bad idea,” Hunk hissed.

            “She needs closure. We’ll keep comms open,” Lance whispered in reply before following after Pidge. He chose a dark blue suit and pulled it on. It was big on his adolescent frame, and Pidge’s green suit was even bigger, but it wouldn’t affect their safety.

            Both kids put their helmets on and activated comms.

            “Okay Hunk, we’re heading into the airlock.”

            “Alright, I’ll monitor things from here,” Hunk said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

            Lance’s heartbeat sped up, but his grief for Pidge was keeping his anxiety down. He needed to be normal just in that moment. Pidge would need him and Hunk when this was all said and done and a breakdown wouldn’t help anything.

            The sound of the airlock cycling made both Pidge and Lance flinch. The lights spun, the doors whirred, and then the two children stood staring into the open vacuum of space.

            Lance reached behind himself and pulled out a length of his retractable tether. He hooked it onto Pidge, who simply nodded at him in acknowledgement.

            “Release on three,” Lance said. “One, two, three.” Both kids deactivated their magnetic boots. They gently floated off the ground.

            “Gentle thrust, we’re going slow. There’s a lot of debris.”

            “Right,” Pidge said. A faint rumble went through them as the thrusters engaged, and then they were propelling out of the ship. If only they had the luxury of awe – to stop and take in the vast emptiness they floated through, to mark the occasion of their first real space walk. Instead, the experience was tinged with dread and grief and they could only focus on the slowly approaching dead bridge.

            “Engage boots,” Lance said once they made it to the hull. Their feet thunked down onto ship and stuck. Still tethered together, they made their slow walk into the gutted ship and to the surprisingly intact bridge.

            _“How’s everything going out there?”_ Hunk’s voice crackled through their helmets.

            “All good buddy, entering the bridge now,” Lance replied. The other boy voiced his affirmative then went quiet.

            “Wow, there’s so little damage,” Lance commented once there made it to the command center.

            “Yeah,” Pidge said distantly. She walked over to the command console and connected a mobile power source to it with a long cord. A holo display popped up on her wrist pad and she began typing.

            “Oh.” Pidge sounded surprised.

            “What is it?”

            “I don’t even need to hack in. The crew manifest isn’t secured.”

            “Is that weird?”

            “A little. Hold on.” More typing ensued, then a faint orange screen flickered to life on the previous dead command console.

           

**_Crew Manifest_ **

****

            The words blinked to life. Pidge typed a few more things and a picture of a spiny looking alien appeared.

 

**_Captain Nidok: Deceased_ **

****

            A large, blob shaped alien appeared next.

****

**_First Mate Tripklingo: Deceased_ **

****

            The ship continued automatically cycling through the crew manifest and the word ‘deceased’ was listed next to each one. Neither Lance nor Pidge could breath.

 

**_Ensign Matt Holt: Deceased_ **

****

Below Matt’s picture was his date of birth, and the date of his death. It was a little less than one deca-phoeb ago.

            Pidge let out a strangled sound. Lance moved and put a hand on her shoulder, but the younger girl screamed and shrugged him off. She banged her fists on the command console.

             “No! No! No!” she shrieked. She kept slamming her fists down, over and over again. Fat tears dropped from her eyes. She screamed. She wailed. She couldn’t breathe or think. She screamed. Cried. Again and again.

             “I should have found him earlier. I should have looked harder! I'm sorry Matt, I'm so sorry,” Pidge wailed.

              Lance and Hunk remained quiet. There was nothing for them to say. Pidge’s wails pierces their souls and they couldn’t fix it. No words could make it better. She kept repeating 'I'm sorry Matt' over and over again. She screamed the words into the uncaring void of space. She screamed them to the distant stars, as if she was trying to make the spirits of the dead hear her. 

             They remained on the command deck for many dobash while Pidge screamed and cried out her grief. Matt’s picture looked out at them – it looked like it was taken when he was about Lance and Hunk’s age.

              Pidge sniffled, her sobs quieter but still there. Her head finally came up and she reached a hand out as if to touch Matt’s photo, but then she suddenly went still. Lance looked at her face to see her eyes wide.

            “What is it?” he asked carefully.

            “His date of birth is wrong,” she said in a voice husky from crying.

             “An error on the crew manifest?”

             “No…” Pidge trailed off as she examined the numbers. Suddenly she jerked and stood up straight.

             "It’s a quantum frequency!” she yelped.

              “I have no idea what that is,” Lance said.

               “It’s a way to send encrypted messages. You usually need a cypher to unlock and read the messages. Dad, Matt, and I all created our own frequency. The cypher is a book we read probably a billion times on the ship, we all have it memorized. We also memorized additions and subtractions to add another encryption layer. It was just something fun we did together, we never planned to have to actually use it,” Pidge said, but her voice was distant. Lance looked down and saw her fingers twitching as she counted in her head.

              “Now I have to factor in the additions and subtrations,” Pidge murmured to herself.

              “I’ve got it!” Pidge shouted. “The message is coordinates! Matt’s alive. Lance, Matt’s alive!” Pidge said. She turned and launched herself at the taller boy, wrapping her arms around him. The Altean was still a little confused as to what had happened, but Pidge was happy and he figured it was a good thing.

               “Alright then I guess if we have coordinates we have to get back to the ship. Let’s go.”

 

                Back on the ship the pair stripped out of the vacuum suits and Pidge wasted no time inputting the coordinates into the ship’s computer. The trio would have to go into a slipstream again, but it would only take a little over a varga to reach the coordinates location. Hunk didn’t protest this time, not after having heard Pidge’s screams of grief over the comms.

                Lance strapped into the pilots seat, ignoring the pain in his head that was nearly bringing him to tears, and got them into the slipstream and away from the wreckage of the big ship.

               “I’m coming Matt,” Pidge whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, can you imagine how frantic everyone is back on Altea? 
> 
> Everyone honestly just needs a hug. The allies, the kiddos, everyone. 
> 
> Next chapter, a reunion, a twist, badass parents, angst, more angst, and then fluffy klance stuff. Stay tuned! I can tell you it's going to be one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. :)
> 
> Also, I posted this chapter while literally falling asleep (head doing the bobby thing and all), so I'm sure there are weird things floating around in the ch. Sawry! Time for me to go wash my face and sleeeeep. My nighttime skincare routine probably rival's Lance's, gotta keep that skin smooth!


	21. What Else Can We Do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge, Lance, and Hunk touch down on a barren moon. 
> 
> The freedom fighters intercept a startling communication from pirates. 
> 
> The allies scramble to find their kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, this is the longest chapter I've posted so far and it's... intense. I was literally shaking while writing it. It ends well (mostly), but it's one of the most intense things I've written... ha. 
> 
> Also, I want to deeply thank my commenters. I was feeling a little down the past couple days and your comments on the last chapter made me feel so much better. Like, I read them and they just made me smile and made me feel good. I'm really grateful you all take the time to leave responses, feedback, and support.

\---

 

            “Are you sure the coordinates in your frequency thing were right?” Lance asked. All three kids were crowded around the front window looking at the dead moon that floated before them. It looked as if it had been struck by an asteroid at some point – the whole upper left quadrant was just a big gaping crater. It was also devoid of any life signs.

            “I’m sure. We need to go down there.”

            “Alright. I’ll put us down in the crater. It’s sunken down enough that if a ship happens to pass by we won’t be immediately visible,” Lance said. Pidge nodded and returned to the back of the ship.

            “Lance,” Hunk murmured. When the Altean turned to look at him, his eyes were sunken and there was a tightness around his eyes that belied his constant claims of ‘I’m fine.’

            “Yeah bud?” Lance replied quietly.

            “You don’t look good. Are you hurting?”

            “My head aches a bit, but I’ll be okay.”

            “We have no idea how bad your concussion is, and I think you’ve been doing the exact opposite of what you’re supposed to with a head injury. Pretty sure you’re supposed to avoid stress, rest, sleep, and avoid space battles. You need to stay on the ship while Pidge and I go look around this time.”

            “I don’t feel comfortable with you two going off alone.”

            Hunk laughed a bit exasperatedly.

            “You and Pidge have been going off alone this whole trip. I’ll look after her this time, you stay here and rest. I know you’re lying when you say you feel fine.”

            Lance didn’t want to agree, but he couldn’t deny what Hunk said. He wasn’t okay. Whatever Ozar gave him helped, but the headache just continued to get worse. His arms were also starting to feel a bit numb, and he was having trouble tamping down his nausea.

            “Maybe your right,” Lance said numbly. His eyes flicked up to meet Hunk’s, but the larger boy frowned as soon as he saw Lance’s eyes.

            “Hold on.” Hunk reached out and grabbed Lance’s chin in a gentle grip, then tilted his face up so he could better see in the still pulsing red emergency lights.

            “Your pupils are different sizes, and really big.”

            “Is that bad?”

            “I’m pretty sure it’s not a good thing. Get us down to the surface, then rest while we’re gone.”

            “Yeah. I will.”

            “Good,” Hunk said.

 

            Lance set about preparing them to land while Hunk made his way to the back of the ship. Pidge watched him as he walked, her expression closed off.

            “Is he okay?” Pidge asked. Hunk turned to her with a surprisingly angry look on his face.

            “I know what you’re doing,” he whispered. “And this is the end. I don’t care what we find. After this we call Allura and we go home. I get it, I do. Matt was like an older brother to me too, but I’m not willing to sacrifice Lance to find him.”

            “I’m not sacrificing Lance!” Pidge whispered indignantly.

            “You realize he’s been doing most of the work on this whole trip? He’s been coordinating us, flying, going with you when you leave the ship, engaging in aerial combat for Gefith’s sake, and he’s had a concussion most the time. He’s done all of this with almost no hesitation. Just ten days ago Iverson was mentally abusing him, now you’re emotionally manipulating him. Do you even care that he’s in pain right now, or that the amount of stress he’s probably in is seriously unhealthy for his concussion and his mental stability? He’s probably going to have a major breakdown after this and I honestly can’t figure out if you care!”

            “Of course I care. I had to listen to Iverson beat him down too. I’ve seen his breakdowns and I’ve pieced together a lot of what happened to him as a slave. I care about him so much that it hurts every time I think about what he went through, but Hunk, this is Matt. He’s been alone for almost four years – who knows what’s happened in that time. I can’t just leave him out here.”

            “And what is Matt going to say when he finds out what you did to get out here? You know how much he cares about people. Do you think he’ll be happy that you basically forced your mentally compromised friend to bring you to this sector of the galaxy? Then continued manipulating him into helping after he got a pretty severe injury?”

            “I never meant for him to get hurt.”

            “But it didn’t stop you when he did. Pidge your behavior isn’t normal… have you told Trigel how bad it is?”

            Pidge’s face shut down completely. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Yes you do. As angry as I am, I know this isn’t really you, I should have realize your PTSD had gotten worse.”

            “It’s fine!”

            “It’s not. After Trigel found that security video you changed. You’ve been irritable, reckless, self-destructive, detached, and those are just the things that I’ve noticed in the past couple weeks and on this mission. Who knows what the inside of your head is like? Matt being missing is pulling you into a downward spiral and you’re taking Lance and I, especially Lance, with you. I’m sorry I didn’t notice how bad it was sooner, but it’s time for this to stop, and when we get home you need to tell your mother how bad it is.”

            “I’ll be fine once we find Matt.”

            “That’s not how it works,” Hunk sighed.

            “Yes it is! Once I find him I’ll finally be able to sleep. I won’t have nightmares anymore and I’ll be able to relax.”

            “Oh Pidge. Finding Matt isn’t going to erase what happened. It won’t make everything all better. We still have to live with what we saw and what happened to us.”

            “We’re touching down!” Lance called from the front.

            Both kids were jolted out of their talk by the ship touching down on the moon. They had both been so absorbed in their whispered argument that they hadn’t even noticed Lance’s descent. Hunk looked towards the front of the ship, then back at Pidge.

            “I mean it. No matter what we find here, we’re going home after this, and either you tell Trigel how bad your PTSD really is, or I’ll tell her,” he whispered before raising his voice and addressing Lance.

            “Thanks man, that landing was much smoother than the last one. Stay here and get some rest, we’ll keep the comms open and head out there.”

            “Be careful,” Lance replied. He already sounded like he was half asleep.

            “Will do.”

 

            Pidge and Hunk suited up. Pidge donned the green vacuum suit she’d used before while Hunk picked up a yellow one. Lance turned around and watched them, but he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

            The sound of the airlock cycling had Lance’s eyes popping open. He hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep.

            “How’s thing look out there?” he asked.

            _“Pretty barren. It looks like there’s a shallow cave up here, we’re going to head in and see what we can find,”_ Hunk’s voice said. He sounded a little tinny coming through the ships comm system.

            _“Hunk,”_ Pidge’s voice sounded. _“Look at the rocks. Something here is generating gravity.”_

            _“You’re right. There must be something underneath us!”_

            _“This must be some sort of hidden base. Look, there’s a hatch here!”_

Lance’s eyes drooped. There were snippets of conversation between Pidge and Hunk that his brain had trouble registering.

            _“What did you do with my brother!”_ Pidge’s angry voice once again had Lance jerking upright in his seat from where he’d slumped in a half sleep.

            There was some grunting, the sound of fighting, and Hunk let out a startled yelp.

            _“Matt?”_

_“Pidge? Hunk?”_ A joyous shriek sounded after the unfamiliar voice spoke.

Lance knew this was important. He should have felt joy. He should have felt something. But his mind couldn’t hold onto any thoughts. He kept dipping down into a sleep-like state and the thoughts slipped away from him like the eel’s he used to chase through the water on Nalquod. He could never catch those either.

            _“…Have you heard of Madame Trigel of the Dalterion Belt and her allies?”_

_“Of course! The allies provide a ton of funding and supplies to the freedom fighters out here. They’re legends.”_

_“Well Trigel sort of adopted me, she’s my mother now. Gyrgan adopted Hunk.”_

_“No way! That’s so cool!”_

_“Our friend back on the ship is…”_

Lance drifted away again. The pulsing red lights in the ship were oddly soothing, almost hypnotizing.

            _“Wait, are you out here alone?”_

            Vaguely Lance registered Matt’s voice followed by something from Pidge he couldn’t catch. She wasn’t talking quietly but Lance just couldn’t make himself focus.

            _“…wormhole. We talked to an explosives vendor on…”_

            Why was it so hard to focus?

            _“Are you all crazy! Do you have any idea how dangerous…”_

            Lance felt nausea swell and then he was scrambling out of his chair and vomiting in the corner of the ship. All that came up was bile considering he hadn’t eaten before leaving with Hunk and Pidge, and he hadn’t eaten any of the protein packs during their time in the slipstream like Hunk and Pidge had. He’d been too nauseous then too.

            _“… functioning cloaking? I have the coolest sister in the galaxy!”_

            Lance felt a distant amusement. From the snippets his brain was catching, Matt was trying to be mad and reprimand Pidge, but was failing because the young girl was just too amazing. The amusement faded when he wretched again, his empty stomach heaving painfully. The actions made his headache swell into an agonizing pulse, as if someone was firing a blaster inside his skull.

            _“…still too dangerous. You should never have come out here alone! It was a stupid risk. Anything could have…”_

Lance half crawled back to the pilots seat. He needed to get himself together. They had found Matt and everyone was counting on him to bring them home. He was just so tired and he felt so bad. He just wanted the pain in his head to go away. He drifted…

            _“Of course I’ll come back with you! Let me send an encrypted message to my commanding officer so they can send a replacement.”_

_“Is it okay to just leave?”_

_“They never expected me to stay forever, I just didn’t have anywhere else to go but you found me and…”_

Lance swiped tears from his eyes. He couldn’t cry yet. He just had to hold himself together for a little longer. When he got home he could cry. He just had to breathe. The pain would go away when he got home. He just wanted to go home. Not to Altea. He wanted the warm seas of Nalquod. He wanted to shapeshift into the aquatic form he’d chosen and swim with Blaytz and the other Nalquodis.

             He missed the beautiful blue sand beaches and the pink and purple trees. He’d left for the Garrison to prove he was better. He wasn’t better. He was still pathetic and useless and he was crying because his head hurt. He wanted… what did he want?

             His thoughts slipped away again. He thought he heard something and it felt like he needed to listen. What was he hearing?

_“..ance.”_

             What was it?

_“Lance!”_

              Lance? Oh. Oh!

              “Sorry Hunk, I’m here. Dozed off a bit,” he said. He sounded normal. He thought he sounded normal. He just had to wake up. Once they lifted off they would call Allura and go home. It was almost over.

_“Oh thank Gefith, don’t worry me like that. We’re coming back to the ship now.”_

              “Copy that. I’m glad you found Matt, Pidge.”

_“Thank you Lance!”_ Pidge’s voice was husky, as if she’d been crying.

_“You okay buddy? You don’t sound good,”_ Hunk said.

             “Just a little nauseous, nothing to worry about.”

_“What happened? Is your friend okay?”_ Matt’s voice sounded.

_“He got hit in the head by a ceiling panel because of a rough slipstream entrance.”_

_“What?!? Why didn’t you guys go home after that happened?”_

_“We had a good lead on where you were, we couldn’t just leave,” Pidge said._

_“You should have. Someone with a head injury should be resting, not flying a ship through pirate controlled airspace!”_

              Lance jerked in surprise when the airlock cycle sounded. He hadn’t realized they were so close.

              “…worth it! We found you didn’t we?” Pidge’s indignant voice sounded from the back of the ship once the outer airlock doors closed and the inner opened.

              “That’s not the point.” Matt said. Lance stood up to go and greet the boy who he’d risked so much to help save, but the second he was upright the ground tilted out from under him and he pitched forward.

             “Lance!” Hunk barely managed to lunge forward in time to catch the Altean before he slammed against the floor.

            “Whoa, sorry. I’m really dizzy. I guess Ozar’s meds wore off,” Lance said. Hunk helped shift him into one of the seats at the back. He blinked a couple times to focus his eyes then looked up, and up, and up, and up at the very tall human who stood in front of him. Matt looked astonishingly similar to Pidge except for the fact that he was twice her height.

            “You must be Matt. I’m glad we found you.”

            Matt knelt down in front of Lance and smiled.

            “Thanks for coming with her all the way out here. Hunk and Pidge told me everything that’s happened. Listen I’m not a doctor or anything, but mind if I take a look at your head?” Matt started reaching towards the bandage on Lance’s head, and he unconsciously flinched away from it. Matt paused and Pidge shuffled nervously.

            “Lance isn’t so good with being touched,” she said without looking at her brother. Matt looked over at his sister with a raised eyebrow.

            “Why?”

            “I was a slave for a long time, but it’s okay. I’m fine, it’s okay if you look,” Lance said. Matt looked back at him, then to Pidge who still refused to make eye contact.

            “Alright. Don’t worry I won’t hurt you!” Matt turned back to Lance with a cheerful smile. He slowly reached forward and unwound the bandage. His brows furrowed a bit – he put a hand on Lance’s chin to turn his head this way and that. Then he looked at Lance’s eyes like Hunk had.

            “Can you follow my finger?” Matt asked. He held up a long index finger and moved it back and forth. Lance could track the first two movements, but after that his eyes lost focus and he had to blink furiously to clear them.

            “Okay,” Matt sighed. “We need to get you to a doctor. Can you get us into orbit?”

            “Yeah, I’m fine as long as I don’t try to stand up.”

            “Good! Once this is over I’m looking forward to meeting you properly.”

            “Well our parents are probably going to murder us when we get home, so this may be the only meeting we get,” Lance joked. Everyone chuckled and the tension in the ship eased just a little.

            “You know I’m the one who taught Pidge how to break the rules, but I didn’t think she’d steal a spaceship and fly to the edges of the galaxy looking for me.”

            “She also stole a lot of money from Trigel,” Hunk chimed in.

            “Hunk!” Pidge shrieked. Matt’s face pinched and he turned to fix his sister with a glare.

            “It was to pay for information, but I didn’t spend any of it! We just threatened the guy instead after he tried attacking us.”

            “Okay so obviously there are a lot of pieces of this story you left out.”

            “There are,” Hunk said. Pidge shot him a betrayed glare, but Hunk just smiled serenely.

            “Let’s get into the air and call your princess, then Hunk and Lance can tell me about everything.” Matt matched Hunk’s serene smile and Pidge just groaned. Lance laughed and moved to get out of the seat so he could go back to the cockpit.

            “Whoa buddy, easy. Let me help you.” Hunk rushed forward and took Lance’s arm. They made the not-to-wobbly few steps to the pilot’s chair and Lance lowered into it.

            “Okay, everyone strap in. I’m bringing us up,” Lance said.

 

\---

 

            “Lieutenant Ozar!” Te-osh rushed into the hangar where Ozar was directing freedom fighters. They’d gotten the moon evacuated and their ships in the air, but everything was in disarray. He wanted some semblance of order before they landed at their next base.

            “What is it?”

            “We intercepted a high priority communications that’s being blasted across this sector and pretty much all of the neighboring sectors. You need to see this,” she said. She sounded panicked which was unusual.

            “Show me,” Ozar said. Te-osh took off through the ship and led him into one of the communications rooms.

            “Look,” Te-osh said. She pressed a button and a picture of Lance showed up on the screen – it looked to have been captured by a security drone.

            The Altean was wearing a cloak, but it didn’t hide his face or his Altean markings. Below his picture was an announcement.

 

**ESCAPED ELKBRUGIDUS SLAVE. REWARD FOR CAPTURE AND RETURN TO THE SLAVE BELT. WANTED ALIVE.**

            Below, the words were translated in dozens of different alien languages, and at the bottom was the reward for an exorbitant amount of GAC was listed.

Ozar went cold. Every pirate and bounty hunter in the sector would be looking for the boy with that kind of reward.

            “Their ship had that weird cloaking that hid it from our radar, right?” he asked tightly.

            “We intercepted more communications from a fleet. It seems that during their fight above Orpito 6, one of the pirate ships was able to scan the kids’ ship and send the data to their fleet before it was destroyed. Chatter is saying they found a way around the cloaking. That fleet is converging on their location now.”

            “Do we know where that is?”

            “I only know the direction they’re all heading.”

            “Quiznak,” Ozar cursed violently. The kids would have no chance against a pirate fleet. Lance, and likely his friends, would all end up on Elkbrugidus. The things they would do to the Altean when he arrived…

            Ozar shuddered. He’d seen truly horrific things in his life as a freedom fighter, but according to their spies it was nothing compared to what happened to slaves who tried to escape Elkbrugidus.

            Bright blue eyes flashed through Ozar’s mind. The Altean was mentally fragile, but his eyes had lit up while they spoke about flying and how best to enter a slipstream. It showed a glimpse of who the boy would really be when he recovered from his past. He had to do something.

            “Te-osh, I need you to get everyone available on this. Those are just kids, and the children of some of our biggest supporters. Based on the direction of the fleet, see if we had any spy bases in the area. If Pidge’s brother was one ours then it’s likely that’s where he would have been. Do everything you can to triangulate a destination. I’m going to contact Madame Trigel and make her aware of the situation.”

            “Yes sir,” Te-osh said. She sat down at one of the comm terminals and began furiously typing. Ozar didn’t bother changing locations, he simply bent over and sent out the communications request to Trigel. She accepted it after only a few ticks.

            “Lietuenant Ozar, have you found something?” she asked. Behind her he saw Lord Gyrgan and Blaytz watching him with matching worried expressions.

            “It’s not good. I’m sending you a communication that’s being blasted through this section of the galaxy.” Ozar tapped a few keys and sent the message through. Trigel’s eyes shifted, her hand moved, and then her face turned horrified. Blaytz surged forward and terror was blatant in his expression.

            “One of their friends said they had cloaking on their ship. Has anyone spotted them yet?” Trigel’s eyes shifted back to Ozar, but Blaytz couldn’t seem to tear his eyes from the communication.

            “We picked up chatter. They found a way to see through the cloaking. A pirate fleet has diverted course but we don’t know the destination. I’ve put my people on this and we’re doing everything we can to figure it out.”

            Behind Trigel, Gyrgan sat heavily in a chair and his head went into his hands. Blaytz turned and walked out of the view screen.

            “Coran, anything!” Ozar heard him yell.

            “Young Pidge was exceedingly thorough. We’re still shut out of their ship’s systems but I’m still trying to break through,” came a lilting voice.

            “Thank you, Lieutenant,” Trigel said quietly. “Please send us the current coordinates of the pirate fleet and their heading. We’ll keep working to find them on our end as well.”

            “Of course Madame, Te-osh is sending you the coordinates now. We’ll contact you as soon as we have something more.”

            “Thank you.” Trigel ended the call without any further words. Ozar scrubbed a hand over his face then down his white beard. He turned to see Te-osh staring at him.

            “What else can we do?” she asked.

            “Nothing.”

 

\---

 

            “Uh, guys. I’m picking up on a communication that’s being blasted through this whole sector. It’s literally being broadcast on nearly every open line in the area,” Hunk said. They had been about to contact Allura, but the moment Hunk had reopened their communications system the message had come blasting through.

            “Put it on the front display,” Lance said. Hunk tapped a few things and then they all crowded into the front of the ship.

            Lance was met with a picture of his own face, Pidge at his side. Terror spiked through him at the message.

 

**ESCAPED ELKBRUGIDUS SLAVE. REWARD FOR CAPTURE AND RETURN TO THE SLAVE BELT. WANTED ALIVE.**

            “You were the one who escaped Elkbrugidus?” Matt yelped. Lance couldn’t even respond. His whole body was locked up as he looked at the shocking value of the reward. It was enough to practically buy a whole new fleet of ships. Every single vagabond in this part of the galaxy would be coming for him.

            “We’re cloaked, it’ll be fine,” Pidge said. Her voice was shaking. Her eyes were fixed on the communication.

            A sudden alarm had the kids nearly jumping out of their skin. Hunk dashed back, and everyone knew something was very wrong when his breath hitched and he let out a terrified moan.

            “T-there’s… There’s a whole pirate fleet coming our way. They must have found a way to track us.”

            “Call your friend now!” Matt barked. He dashed to the back of the ship. Pidge followed. Lance stayed still. They knew he was here. They knew. They knew.

            “Hunk, how far away?” Matt asked.

            “Gefith no,” Hunk moaned. “Only a few dobash. Maybe ten at most.”

            Lance wasn’t breathing. He knew he needed to, but they knew he was there. They knew. His mind replayed those days where they’d be forced to watched public torture of attempted escapees. It was going to happen to him. He was going to be brutally tortured to death. It was going to happen to him.

            “I’ve opened a line to Altea,” Pidge said. They rushed back to the front, but Hunk immediately disregarded the incoming communication from Altea when he saw Lance.

            “Lance, breath!” he said. Lance took in one big, gasping breath. It sounded high and breathy and frightened.

            “ _You have a pirate fleet coming towards you. Send us your coordinates now!”_ Trigel said the moment the communication opened.

            The ship’s alarmed sounded again. The kids all turned wide eyes to the alert. The fleet was dropping out of slipstream.

            “We know.”

 

\---

 

            “Send us your coordinates now!” the Dalterionite didn’t even take a moment to observe the kids who appeared on the screen, nor the new face that bore a startling resemblance to Pidge.

            Through their open line, everyone in the command room of the castle heard the alarm that sounded from the ship. All four children looked terrified.

            _“We know,”_ Hunk said.

            _“Everyone hold on!”_ Lance shouted. The ship shuddered and shifted.

            “Send us your coordinates now!” Trigel shouted again, but the kids were distracted as Lance dropped their ship into a dive. She turned to where Coran and Alfor were furiously inputting information into the castle systems.

            “We need to get into the air now! We need to get through the wormhole as soon as it opens.” Blaytz said. He took off running towards the hangars. Alfor looked up at Trigel, then nodded to her.

            “Go,” he said. Trigel nodded and took off, Gyrgan on her heels. Lotor was to the side at a station with a data stream in front of him. His fingers flew over controls as he sent message after message.

            _“Pidge, send them the coordinates!”_ Lance’s voice filtered from the screen.

            _“I’m trying!”_

            Allura stared at the holo display. She was huddled with Keith and Shiro and they all just stared. Their friends were facing an entire fleet of pirates, and they couldn’t do anything.

            “He doesn’t look good,” Keith said distantly. Shiro and Allura knew who he was talking about. There was a large gash in Lance’s head, and he skin around it was already turning to a mottled purple and black. His eyes were hazy, bloodshot, and sunken, rimmed by dark circles. His normally rich brown skin was ashen.

            “We have the coordinates,” Coran shouted. Alfor stepped up to the castle controls, but a sense of determination settled in for Allura.

            “Father! Go join the others, I’ll open the wormhole,” she said. Shiro and Keith shot her startled looks, but Allura kept her gaze firmly fixed on her father.

            For a tick Alfor just looked at her.

            “I can do it,” she said, chin held high.

            “I believe in you. Coran, open lines of communication from our ships to the command deck, and to the kids’ ship.” With that, Alfor went running from the room towards the hangar bay.

            Allura stepped up to the castle controls. The first time she’d done this, the sheer amount of quintessence had overwhelmed her so she couldn’t keep the wormhole open for long. She knew what to expect now. She would hold the wormhole open for as long as was needed to get her friends back safely.

            “On my mark princess,” Coran said. Allura placed her hands on the pillars.

            _“We’re all in orbit, open it now!”_ Alfor’s voice rang through the room.

            “Now, Allura,” Coran said. She fed her quintessence into the pillars. The crystal above her head lit up and the room glowed a brilliant white.

            _“We’re through, keep it open for as long as you can!”_ Alfor said. Allura was shaking – not from exhaustion, not yet, but from fear.

            She jerked, but kept her hands firmly in place when an arm snaked around her stomach. Then a biotic hand rested on her shoulder.

            “It’s okay,” Shiro murmured. “They’re going to be okay.”Allura nodded. With Shiro’s support the trembling ceased. Fatigue was already creeping in, but she wouldn’t fail her father, not again.

 

            Everything happened so fast. Allura only half listened to the chatter going back and forth. She only came back to awareness when Coran let out a panicked curse.

            “Alfor, there are more signatures coming at you fast! This fleet must have called out for backup because another is headed straight for you! They’ll be dropping out of the slipstream in mere ticks!”

            Allura couldn’t hear her father’s reply over her panic. Shiro was murmuring softly to her, but her breathing was too fast. The strain of keeping the wormhole open, and the stress of the events was overwhelming the young princess.

            “Coran, can more than one wormhole be opened at once?” Lotor’s voice suddenly cut through the room.

            “It’s possible but she wouldn’t be able to keep it open for long,” Coran said.

            “I need you to open a wormhole to here from these coordinates,” Lotor said. Coran didn’t question it.

            “Allura, can you manage more than one?”

            “I can,” she said decisively. Shiro’s arms tensed around her, but he said nothing.

            “I’m inputting the coordinates. Allura, on my mark.”

            There was a tense moment of silence.

            “Now,” he said. The princess pushed even more quintessence into the pillars. Her head felt light, but she didn’t falter.

            “Oh,” Coran said when he saw what came through. Allura glance over briefly, and her eyes went wide.

 

\---

 

            Lance jerked in surprise when four faces appeared on his front display. Alfor, Trigel, Blaytz, and Gyrgan each appeared in their own little picture, geared up in flight suits and looking fierce.

            _“Lance, we are getting a wormhole open now. Do everything you can to evade. They want you alive so they’ll be shooting to disable, not to kill. They’ll also be firing hook lines at you. If you get hooked, spin the ship, it might break it off. Move erratically, don’t bother trying to shoot back, do you understand?”_ Blaytz asked.

            “Got it,” Lance said shakily.

            “We’ve got more dropping out of the slipstream!” Hunk’s panicked voice sounded. Lance spun their ship to the left as a couple smaller, agile ships fired low powered shots towards them. He almost didn’t avoid a following shot in time as he watched a massive brown ship appear.

            “That’s one of their flag ships, it commands the whole fleet,” Matt said. Lance jerked their ship up, then did a quick barrel right. The other three were strapped in tightly at the back and so far they’d managed to avoid taking a hit, but only a few ships had arrived at first. More just kept coming and Lance was having trouble making his eyes focus. He wasn’t going to be able to keep this up for very long. The maneuvers were making his head swim. The only reason they were all still alive is that the pirates wanted them alive and that forced them to be more careful.

            Everything paused when a glowing white circle appeared. From it, four distinct fighter ships emerged followed by a handful of Altean combat jets.

            _“Fight in formation around that ship. Keep the swarmers off them,”_ Alfor said. Lance watched in awe as they ships branched off, streaking towards them and firing blasts before weaving into graceful arcs to avoid return fire.

            _“Lance, move!”_ Blaytz shouted. Lance jerked as he saw one of the pirate fleet’s fighters break off and fire a shot. He didn’t have time to evade.

            Before it hit, a yellow mass obscured his vision. It’s shields rippled as it absorbed the shot.

            _“Try to get to the wormhole,”_ Gyrgan said. He maneuvered his ship out from in front of Lance and up, firing a blast that took out a pirate ship from above.

            “I’ll try,” Lance replied. He jerked the ship to the right, the big glowing wormhole his beacon.

            _“Alfor, there are more signatures! This fleet must have called out for backup because another is headed straight for you! They’ll be dropping out of the slipstream in mere ticks!”_ Coran said.

            Panic welled higher and Lance’s adrenaline surged. Another fleet dropped out of slipstream and cut off his route to the wormhole.

            _“We’re outnumbered,”_ Trigel said. As she spoke, the kids all watched her small, lithe green ship arch right. As it spun, she fired a white beam that destroyed any pirate ships in its path.

            Past her zoomed a larger, streamline blue ship. It fired shots in rapid succession, flipping up, around, backwards as it jumped from target to target, annihilating any ships that tried to break off towards Lance.

            Gyrgan kept close to them, his bulky yellow shipping buzzing around them and absorbing hits that got through before they could hit the kids. He fired back with single shots, but each one was wide and powerful and didn’t stop when they hit one enemy. They kept streaking forward in a straight line to take out anything in their path.

            Alfor’s sleek red ship was a mere blur – as the fastest and most agile it streaked through ships, firing in short bursts. It constantly moved around the battlefield, picking off lone ships or any that tried to break away and circle around.

            _“More incoming! How are there so many still coming?”_ Gyrgan shouted.

            Lance’s progress towards the wormhole had all but stopped. There was now an entire pirate fleet between him and the doorway home.

            “What do I do?” he asked helplessly.

            _“Just keep moving forward,”_ Blaytz said. Lance’s hand trembled on the controls. He reached forward and muted their ship.

            “Hunk, I don’t think I can do this,” he said.

            “It’s okay buddy, we’ll make it out of here. You’re doing great.”

            “No that’s not what I meant. Hunk I can hardly see. Everything is just spinning and my arms feel numb,” Lance said. His voice was tinged with panic. Hunk’s stomach dropped and he shared a horrified look with Pidge and Matt. They’d been pushing him too far with his head injury, and now that was coming back to hurt them all.

            _“Quiznak, Lance dive down now! Ships are dropping out of slipstream behind you!”_ Blaytz’s panicked voice had Lance jerking back to the controls. He unmuted the comms, but he couldn’t focus on the display.

            “Hunk I can’t see where they are!” he said. Lance pushed their ship into a blind dive.

            _“Lance!”_ Blaytz shouted right before a shot struck their ship. Alarms blared and the breath was crushed out of all the kids as they were thrown around. Lance jerked forward, and then his head slammed back against the seat after the impact. A loud shrieking ring filled his ears as his head took another blow.

            “That took out our thrust! We’re dead in the water!” Matt said.

            “Nav systems are down!” Pidge screamed. Lance blearily made out the colorful ships of their parents swarming around them, but the sheer volume of pirate ships was too much. The two flagships kept spewing more agile fighters and even the steady stream of Altean fighter jets filtering through the wormhole weren’t enough. They were in pirate territory, which meant all their people were nearby already.

            _“Lance, talk to me, is everyone alright?”_ Blaytz asked.

            “Our systems are down. Nav, thrust, everything. We’re stuck.” Lance’s voice was foggy and distant, he wasn’t even fully aware that he’d said the words. The ringing got louder.

            _“King Alfor, help is coming through now!”_ Coran sounded… triumphant.

            All attention turned to the wormhole and once again action on the battlefield stuttered as a hulking black shape slowly emerged from the wormhole. It was twice the size of the pirate flagships.

            _“I’m sorry I’m late, it takes time to launch my battlecruiser,”_ Zarkon’s deep voice sounded over the comms. His massive ship cleared the wormhole, and then Galra drone fighters were dropping from its belly and swarming the battlefield.

            _“I’m glad to see you, my friend. The kids’ ship is disabled, they can’t make it to the wormhole,”_ Alfor said.

            _“I can help with that,”_ Lotor’s voice sounded this time. _“Keep the pirates clear and I’ll tow them out.”_ His dark blue, black, and purple ship emerged from the wormhole behind the battlecruiser and made it’s way towards the disable ship.

            _“Lance, Lotor is heading to you, we’ll get you out of here soon just hold on.”_ Blaytz said. Lance couldn’t respond. His eyes were closing against his will. _“Lance?”_

“Lance!” Hunk was suddenly there in front of him, but he couldn’t hold onto consciousness.

            _“What’s going on?”_ Alfor asked.

            “He’s slipping into unconsciousness, I can’t snap him out of it!” Hunk said. Whatever else was lost as Lance was pulled under.

 

\---

 

            The battlefield turned to chaos. The Galra battlecruiser charged it’s massive ion cannon. The blast decimated one of the pirate flagships and most of the surrounding fighters. After that the other pirate ships began to flee, but neither Zarkon nor his allies were feeling merciful.

            With extreme prejudice, the colorful ships of the allies, flanked by Galra drones and Altean fighter jets, chased down the fleeing pirates and destroyed every single one they could. The sleek blue ship was especially merciless – it tore through enemy ships as fast as it could fire, no shots ever missing.

            By the end, the empty sector of space around the dead, cratered moon was littered with scrap and debris.

            Through it all, a small, manned Galra ship towed a crippled Altean vessel through the wormhole. Only when they had made it through did the Altean fighters follow. The Galra drones quickly docked back at the battlecruiser. The red, green, blue, and yellow ships went through, then the battlecruiser, and then the wormhole closed and that sector of the galaxy was once again hundreds of light years away.

 

            On the ground, a scarred human boy carried an unconscious Altean princess out of the command deck. In the air, the crippled Altean ship was towed to the ground. The pilot of the blue ship raced on board and emerged carrying an unconscious Altean. He spoke to no one and simply followed the king’s advisor to the medical bay. Two half-Galra followed close behind.

            The pilots of the green and yellow ships embraced their children. It wasn’t the time for anger. Not then. It was the time for gratitude, hugs, and tears. The both showed just as much affection to the tall human boy with a scar on his cheek. They’d get his story later, for now they simply tried to give him a sense of family and welcome in the wake of so much chaos.

 

\---

 

            Lance only had a vague sense of consciousness when the door of the healing pod slipped open. His knees immediately buckled, but a familiar pair of arms caught him before he hit the ground. They helped him out and sat him down.

            Lance scrubbed at his eyes until they finally cleared to reveal Keith’s anxious face peering at him from a close distance. The half-Galra immediately put a finger to his lips and then pointed behind them. Lance turned. Blaytz and Lotor were sitting slumped against the healing pod he’d just emerged from, fast asleep. It made Lance wonder how long he’d been in there.

            “How long?” he whispered.

            “Four quintants. There was massive hemorrhaging in your brain cause by the second impact to your head when your ship was hit. You almost died. They haven’t left the medical bay and I think this is the first time they’ve slept since you went in,” Keith whispered back. His voice suddenly choked off and he had to take a few deep breaths. Lance reached up and pressed a hand to the other boy’s face and tears welled in his eyes.

            “I’m so sorry,” he said. Keith’s hand came up to cup his own where it was pressed against his skin.

            “Don’t ever do something like that to me again. I just had to sit here in the castle and watch everything happen. I could see you, I saw your head hit. I watched you slip unconscious. I thought I was watching you die. Don’t ever leave me behind again.” Tears spilled out of Keith’s eyes.

            “I was just trying to help. Pidge needed me,” Lance said.

            “You always want to help. You always want to prove yourself but you don’t have to prove anything to us. You don’t have to make sure yourself constantly useful to earn our love. You are enough, so please don’t ever make me watch you be in pain like that when I can’t be there to help.” Keith continued to cry softly.

            Lance didn’t think when he leaned forward to press his lips to Keith’s. The half-galra’s hands came up to tangle in his hair, and they both sobbed into their wet, tear-stained kiss. It tasted salty and there was nothing graceful about it. They just gripped onto each other, Keith just wanting anything to prove that the boy in his arms was alive and safe, and Lance trying to ground himself in the reality that he’d escaped a return to slavery and got to experience his first kiss.

            When they broke apart, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s slender frame and the boys curled into each other and quietly cried. Keith pressed kisses into Lance’s hair, and forehead, and anywhere else he could. Lance cried harder at the affection, on the verge of breaking down but not quite there. They cried until the hiccups and sniffles woke Blaytz and Lotor from their sleep.

            Neither disturbed the moment. They simply opened their eyes and watched the two boys hold and comfort each other. Later, much later, when the fear had been erased by hugs and tears and the joy of reunion, they would deal with the aftermath of what had happened. There were going to be consequences, just not then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man... that was something huh? 
> 
> Also, sorry if the Pidge/Matt reunion wasn't exactly what you were expecting. To be honest, I thought the scene from the show was already so perfect and and didn't want to just word-for-word quote the show again like I did with the explosives vendor cause I don't like doing that. I'm not super happy with it, but there will be some actual, meaningful interaction between Pidge and Matt (and Trigel), in the next chapter(s?).
> 
> Actually there's going to be meaningful moments between all the allies and their kiddos coming up. After what happened, everyone needs to have a heart-to-heart. 
> 
> And Pidge's PTSD, she has it bad considering she watched her parents be murdered when she was only ten. So maybe things make a little more sense now? Sometimes people with PTSD can dissociate and become emotionally detached which is why she was okay with manipulating Lance the way she did. It'll come back to haunt her though (spoiler alert, haha).
> 
> Did ya'll enjoy the Klance at least? I was shaking while I wrote that as well. I'm so excited to write more, the ship is sailed and I'm so on board! I know this scene was short but more is coming next chapter.


	22. Mistakes on Both Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance's bond grows deeper
> 
> Pidge has a talk with Matt and Trigel
> 
> Hunk and Gyrgan cook and talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay on this one. I busted out over 70,000 thousand words on this fic in about a month and I needed to take a short break. 
> 
> On that note, one of my amazing commenters made me realize that I have written a nearly 80,000 word kid fic. This was never supposed to be a kid fic! I mean, like, this is basically a full length novel at this point and we haven't even seen Voltron yet! What have I done??? You all came for the Klance and got an 80k kid fic instead, surprise!
> 
> For those of you who are still with me reading this monster at this point, thank you because I'm pretty sure this isn't what you came here for, ha... Also, with the amount of stuff I have planned for this fic it's just going to get even longer.
> 
> BUT, I know I said this like five or six chapters ago, but a time jump IS coming. Probably the chapter after the next one. For real this time. 
> 
> So with that said, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who is still with me on this. I hope you continue to enjoy the story cause I'm not slowing down yet. This chapter has lots of feels and dialogue (and a fair amount of Klance!), and the feel train will continue in the next chapter. There's just so much that needs to be talked about after the rescue mission, and because I'm awful I have to fully write out everyone's interactions because I think it's important... So much love to you all!

\---

 

            Blaytz’s hug was Lance’s undoing. The unexpected joy of kissing Keith had been something of a boon that kept Lance from coming apart completely. That was erased when his father wrapped him in a strong hug.

           It was that feeling of absolute safety that allowed everything to crash into him at once, a giant wave of fear that he’d repressed during the entire rescue mission. He had to come to terms with how close he’d come to being taken back to Elkbrugidus. How close he’d come to losing everything he’d come to see as precious. How close he’d come to dying of his injuries. Everything was too close.

           That wave of emotion brought a panic so intense that all Lance could do was take big, gasping breaths through his sobs, and yet it felt as if he wasn’t getting any air at all. Blaytz kept telling him in Nalqodi that he was safe, that he was alive, but for once it did nothing to calm Lance’s panic. He couldn’t calm down. He kept replaying the events over and over again. That moment of absolute terror when the pirate fleet had dropped out of slipstream. That moment of being one, tiny, nearly defenseless ship facing hundreds of enemies. One tiny fish surrounded by predators in the vast and unforgiving sea of space. Of his friends lives in his hand and being incapable of saving them on his own.

            Unfortunately, he hyperventilated himself into unconsciousness. Something that didn’t surprise his father, but frightened the Nalquodi nonetheless.

 

            When Lance woke up he became immediately aware that he wasn’t alone in his bed. He was wrapped tightly in Keith’s arms. Something that baffled him but also sent a burst of warmth through his entire body. He wondered why he was so comfortable with Keith’s touch. Lotor and Blaytz could hug him like this and he was fine, but even with Hunk and Pidge he couldn’t handle more than a hand on the shoulder or brief touches on most days. Even when Hunk was comforting him, like he’d had to do back on the ship, there was a limit.

            Keith had been different since the day he’d found Lance wandering the castle in a panic over three deca-phoeb’s ago. Keith had been a quiet source of comfort for him so many times during those days when he was struggling so hard to get accustomed to freedom. He never got angry, he never asked for anything, he just silently accepted all of Lance’s grief and pain.

            A tinge of panic crawled back through Lance’s brain once he began to wake up more fully. A shiver rattled through him and he couldn’t help but curl tighter into Keith’s furnace of a body.

            “You’re awake?” Keith asked groggily. Lance simply nodded against the other boy’s chest.

            “I passed out?”

            “Yeah.”

            “That’s a little embarrassing.”

            “Not at all.”

            Lance laughed a little. “Does Blaytz know you’re in here with me?”

            It was Keith’s turn to laugh. “No. I snuck in after he left. All the allies had a meeting and it’s been going on for vargas.”

            “I’m glad I didn’t wake up alone. I don’t have a good feeling about that meeting though.”

            “They’re our parents. Whatever happens, that’s not going to change.”

            “I know but… I think this is the first time I’m ever going to get in trouble for something. I mean, not counting when I was a slave cause I got in trouble there all the time. And I probably won’t be punished like during that time cause Blaytz would never hurt me like that but…”

            “Lance,” Keith said softly. His hand came up to card through Lance’s hair. “It’s probably not the best time for you to be thinking about that place.”

            Lance nodded and tried to slow his breathing – he hadn’t even noticed it getting faster.

            “I’m scared,” he replied in a small voice. Keith sat up and brought Lance with him. He turned so they could look at each other and cupped the Altean’s face.

            “Please don’t be. You should never be scared of anyone here. Not our parents, not our friends. I know there are going to be consequences, but they aren’t going to do anything that would be bad for you, mentally or physically, okay?”

            “But I don’t think I’ll be able to stay on Altea.” Tears shimmered in Lance’s eyes but didn’t fall.

            “You think Blaytz is going to take you back to Nalquod?”

            Lance nodded. “I wasn’t ready to come here anyways. I acted like I was, but I was lying because I wanted to make my dad proud. I think he knows that now.”

            “Do you want to go back?”

            “I don’t want to leave my friends behind…or you.”

            “That’s not what I asked.” Keith’s voice was gentle.

            “I miss it. I was happier there. I don’t like the Garrison, but not just because of how everyone treated me. I mean I learned a lot, but I just felt like I was never good enough, and then there was you who was amazing at pretty much everything and everyone always compared me to you.”

            “Lance I—“

            “No, no, no, I’m not blaming you. I mean if we hadn’t already known each other I may have really resented you or thought of you as a rival or something, but I know how great you actually are. I mean you are super talented and kind and really handsome and…” Lance trailed off when he saw Keith’s face flush. “And I’m getting off topic. I guess to actually answer your question, I want to go back to Nalquod, but if I go back I have to leave everyone and I don’t want that.”

            “I think everyone’s leaving anyways. After what you guys did…they probably don’t want to let you all out of their sight.”

            “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t of agreed they never would have been able to get out there.”

            “No!” Keith said fiercely. “You aren’t taking the blame for this. Pidge would have found a way no matter what, and she and Hunk are alive because of you and your flight skills.”

            “But…” Keith leaned over and kissed him to cut off whatever silly thing the Altean was about to say. It was as chaste as the first one, but a little less salty.

            “No,” Keith said again when he pulled back. Lance blinked at him.

            “What does this mean? Us kissing?” Lance asked, a little dazed. Keith huffed a laugh at the abrupt shift in the conversation.

            “I wish I knew. I’ve never talked to father about…this sort of thing.”

            “Me to,” Lance said.

            “With all the flirting you did when you first got here and at the Garrison I thought you’d have a better idea.”

            “I only do that because that’s what everyone on Nalquod does.” Both Lance and Keith laughed at that.

            “We’ll figure it out.”

            “Even if I go back to Nalquod?”

            “I care about you, that’s not going to change no matter where you are.”

            “Oh,” Lance looked down at his lap. He wanted to say something nice and sweet but… but he needed to tell Keith the truth.

            “I…” he paused and took a deep breath. “I don’t know how well I’ll be able to do this. I’m still not very good with emotions, or touch, or just living in general and even I don’t know what’s going to make me panic next. If we… if you want me... Argh!” Lance buried his head in his hands. “Why can’t I find the right words?!?”

            Keith’s hands went to his wrists to gently pull the Altean’s hands from his face. Blue eyes stared into violet ones, and just like all those nights where Lance had showed up at his room, the half-galra’s face didn’t hold any judgment.

            “I get it. Father and Allura are amazing, and Shiro is like my brother, but even with all the love they’ve showed me, my mom abandoning me has made it so hard for me to trust people. I always think everyone’s going to leave me just like she did, but I care about you and we can figure it all out together, as slow as we need.”

            “You are a lot better at communicating than I thought you’d be Mr. Strong Silent Type.” Lance punctuated the words with a cheeky little smile.

            “Allura and Shiro keep telling me it’s important so I’m trying it out,” Keith laughed.

            “You’re doing good so far,” Lance whispered. They kissed again.

            “I think I should go before Blaytz comes back,” Keith murmured against his lips. Lance nodded.

            “Probably.”

            “Will you be okay by yourself?”

            “Yeah. I’ll just think of kissing,” Lance said. Keith’s face flushed and Lance’s eyes sparkled with mirth.

            “See you soon.” Keith slipped out of the bed out the door. Lance lay back down with a smile – he fell back asleep thinking about how nice kisses are.

 

\---

 

            For Pidge, the elation of Matt’s return wore off the day Lance got out of the healing pod and immediately broke down, hyperventilating himself into unconsciousness before anyone could even see him. Before that she’d just been floating, skipping through the castle while Matt trailed close behind. She showed him every little thing she’d discovered about her second home all while regaling him with stories about the time they’d spent apart.

            On the third night the siblings gathered with Hunk and Shiro and they all just talked. Matt told them about what his life had been like for the past nearly four years. The other three did the same for him. They laughed and cried and reveled in the knowledge that finally they were all back together and safe.

            Then Lance woke up and Pidge had to face what she’d done. She didn’t regret what she did, not exactly, but she had to come to terms with how cruel she’d been in her manipulation of someone who considered her a friend. Lance trusted her, which was not easy for the former slave, and she’d used it against him to get what she wanted. Hunk had been right, most of the stress of the mission had fallen on the Altean and he’d ended up being the only one injured. He’d almost died. She got Matt back but she’d nearly sacrificed Lance’s life to do it.

            Pidge scrubbed her hands over her face and stretched her legs out from their cross-legged position. She was sitting on her bed, staring at all the stuff she’d accumulated, thinking about what Trigel and the other allies were discussing. They’d had to spend most of the first four days just dealing with logistical nightmare that came with staging a large-scale rescue mission with no preparation time.

            Trigel, Gyrgan, and Zarkon had been forced to drop important matters to rush to Altea. The Galra had to regroup and reorganize after launching a battlecruiser and engaging in an unexpected space battle, and deal with the cost of the drone ships that had been destroyed. Alfor had three critically injured pilots whose ships had been struck – it was a miracle that there had been no casualties but those three were still in healing pods. Allura had been unconscious for three days, then confined to bed rest upon waking due to the massive amount of quintessence she’d had to expel opening the wormholes and keeping them open for an extended period of time.

            All of it was Pidge’s fault, but she didn’t regret what she’d done. She felt guilty for causing other people pain, but she had Matt back. She’d actually found him and everything she’d done hadn’t been for nothing. She would never regret journeying out to find her brother, and instead she would focus on what went wrong. Obviously her cloaking had been imperfect, but she hadn’t yet been able to figure out what had allowed the pirates to track them.

            A knock on the door startled the young girl out of her thoughts, and a moment later the tall form of her brother stepped inside.

            “Hey,” he said softly. He carefully picked his way through the mess of Pidge’s room so he could sit next to her on the bed.

            “Do you think what I did was wrong?” Pidge asked. Matt braced his hands behind him and leaned back with his head tilted towards the ceiling.

            “That’s not exactly an easy question to answer. I think you were absolutely incredible, I mean everything you did was amazing. You developed actual, functioning cloaking that hid you from radar and heat sensors and everything else. You threatened a notorious black market vendor for information, rescued a moon full of rebels from pirates, decoded my quantum frequency after finding it on the destroyed hull of a ship, and found me at a hidden spy base. You’re also an actual princess now. I think I have the coolest sister in the whole galaxy.”

            “I think you said that already.” Pidge laughed.

            “It’s true. I’m impressed with how much you’ve grown, and how smart you are, but… I guess I don’t agree with how you went about doing all these things. Hunk filled me in on what happened to your friend Lance. I think it was cold for you to ask him to go out there – but even if I put his past aside, after he got hurt Hunk told me that you basically manipulated him into continuing on. From what I understand of his mental state, there was no way he could have rejected you. You knowingly risked your friend’s life and that worries me. The Katie I knew would never do that.”

            “I… I don’t think I was thinking right.” Pidge looked down at her lap and absently scratched at a scab on the back of her hand. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten it.

            “I know,” Matt said softly. He sat up and put a hand on her shoulder. “All of us: you, me, Shiro, Hunk, Lance too I’m guessing, we all suffer from it and everyone suffers in a different way. I will never not think you are the coolest ever, I just hope that you understand that what you did to your friend wasn’t right. But also remember that how you acted wasn’t totally your fault either.”

            “I didn’t want to hurt anybody.”

            “I know, but you did and I don’t know enough to help you with whatever’s going on in your head. Trigel is waiting for you, so I think it’s time you go talk to her. She and I spoke for a long time – she loves you just as much as mom and dad did, just remember that.”

            “I know she does.” Pidge slid to the edge of her bed and stood up. Matt stood alongside her, and the younger of the two couldn’t help but launch forward and wrap her brother in a hug. She’d been doing it constantly ever since they’d returned to the ship, as if she needed a constant reminder that he was really there with her.

            Matt hugged her tightly for a few moments before pulling away and nudging her towards the door.

            “Go talk with your mother.”

 

\---

 

 

            Trigel didn’t turn when Pidge stepped onto the observation deck – she simply stood and stared out at the juniberry fields and listened to the little footsteps get closer. Pidge didn’t say anything either, she just stopped when she was beside Trigel and stared out with her.

            The silence lasted for a few dobash – Trigel was aware of the girl fidgeting by her side but still she waited.

            “I—“ Pidge started. The Dalterionite held up a hand to cut off whatever her daughter had been about to say.

            “I’m sorry, Pidge,” she said softly.

            “What? What are _you_ sorry for?”

            “I made so many mistakes. I did so many things wrong. I don’t even know where to begin apologizing for them all.”

            “Wait no, I need to apologize to you.”

            Trigel finally turned from the fields of flowers to look down at her still tiny child. She looked about as confused and nervous as she sounded.

            “No. Everything that happened could have been avoided had I been a more attentive mother. Admittedly I am…new to parenting. I tried to protect you from the truth, I kept information from you, and I didn’t notice how bad your trauma fatigue was. Or, what is it humans call it, PTSD? Either way, I’ve seen it in my own people before, and many others, and yet I couldn’t see its severity in my own daughter. If I had, I would have done things differently.” Trigel let out a humorless laugh.

            “What do you mean?”

            “Did you know that Blaytz used to be a freedom fighter, many deca-phoeb’s ago before he became a king?”

            “No.”

            “He was, for a very long time. When I found the video of your brother, I showed it to you so that you would be assured that he was alive and well. When you came to me about the explosives vendor and the communications match, I dismissed it but I didn’t tell you why. I guess I didn’t want to give you false hope. The truth is that the moment I received it, I sent it to Blaytz and asked him to reach out to every freedom fighter he knew. I myself sent messages to all of my own contacts – the Dalterion Belt has been providing the freedom fighters with funding so I know how to contact many members of their leadership.”

            “Oh…” Pidge said. Trigel watched as realization bloomed on her face. “You never needed to question the explosives vendor.”

            “No. I didn’t. However, there are thousands of freedom fighters and they operate in separate units for safety’s sake. Blaytz and I’s contacts were cycling through their various unit leaders to find the woman. A varga before I heard about your disappearance, I received information that the freedom fighter in question served under Lieutenant Ozar who I have had previous dealings with.”

            Pidge sat down on the floor right where she had been standing. She took off her round glasses, rubbed her eyes, scrubbed a hand through her hair, then hunched forward to rest her forearms on her thighs. Trigel sat across from her.

            “Everything I did was useless.”

            “Not entirely. I contacted Lieutenant Ozar after you went missing – I figured you would end up there, and he told me about how you saved the life of him and his unit on that moon. I might have reached out to them in time to question Te-osh, or I could have been too late and they could have been dead before I had the chance, but that’s not the point. My point is that all of this could have been avoided if I simply talked to you. I should have realized how negatively that video affected you – I should have treated you like the genius young woman you are instead of a fragile child I needed to hide the truth from. I’m so very sorry Pidge.”

            The young girl threw herself into Trigel’s lap. She wrapped her arms around the Dalterionite’s back and squeezed for all she was worth.

            “It’s not your fault. I should have told you, I shouldn’t have gone off like that. I almost got Lance killed and it was all for nothing. I should have trusted you I was just… I was so desperate. It was like I couldn’t think about anything else and I kept having these awful dreams.”

            Trigel squeeze back and pressed the girl as close to her as possible.

            “That wasn’t your fault. What happened to you affects your mind in ways that you cannot easily overcome. Trauma fatigue is particularly difficult for children and it’s my fault for not properly caring for you. I sent you off to the Garrison without knowing whether or not you were well. Never apologize for having an illness you cannot control. I don’t approve of what you did, not in any way and trust me when I say I am very angry, but I am also so very sorry. I’m sorry for not being a better mother to you.”

            “You’re an amazing mother. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

            Trigel huffed a small laugh. They could have gone in circles for vargas just apologizing to each other and trying to take the blame, so Trigel didn’t say anything this time. She hugged her daughter as tightly as possible until she finally pulled back to look her in the face.

            “What will happen now?” Pidge asked quietly.

            “I don’t know yet. But I think there’s another person you need to speak with.”

            “Who?”

            “Blaytz. In the end, it’s not me you wronged. I can’t stop you from running into danger, I did many stupid things as a child, but you don’t risk your friends like that. Not ever. Lance would have never gone out there if you hadn’t have manipulated him into it, and from what I’ve heard he’s the only reason all of you are still alive. You don’t need to explain yourself to me, but you need to explain yourself to Blaytz. It’s his child who almost died.”

            “I didn’t want him to get hurt.” Pidge felt as if she’d been saying that a lot recently.

            “I know. But he did. Blaytz is in the meeting room. Go find him.”

            Pidge nodded her head, but she looked so small and lonely sitting there that Trigel leaned forward and hugged her again.

            “I love you so much, Pidge. Nothing will change that.”

            “I love you too.”

            “Good. Now go find Blaytz. Once all this has been resolved we’ll talk about what’s going to happen next.”

 

\---

 

            “Hand me that will you?” Gyrgan pointed to a purple, grain like substance near Hunk’s hand. The boy paused in his chopping of the strange pink vegetables and handed the grain over to his father. Gyrgan thanked him quietly and they resumed cooking in silence.

            The silence continued to reign, only broken by an occasional request, until the food was done cooking. The pair each spooned some onto their plates before sitting side-by-side at the table.

            Despite Hunk’s nervousness, he ate the food. On Rygnirath, their culture revolved around food and family. It was the cultural norm to settle issues over food – anyone who was having a dispute would silently cook a meal together to allow their emotions to settle, then they would eat and fill their bellies. Only after they had eaten together would they begin to discuss the problem.

            A part of Hunk wanted to eat slower to delay the conversation, while the other part wanted to eat as quickly as possible so they could just get it over with. In the end, he forced himself to eat at a regular pace, Gyrgan did the same, and somehow the silence managed to be companionable despite the seriousness of the pending conversation.

            Gyrgan pushed his empty plate away with a heavy sigh before leaning back in his chair. Hunk followed suit a few seconds later.

            “I’m not mad,” Gyrgan said. Hunk sat straighter and looked over at his father.

            “You’re not? Why? I mean, I think if I were you I’d pretty mad since I basically helped my friends steal a ship and go out into a super dangerous part of space.”

            The Rygnirathian smiled gently and patted his son on the shoulder.

            “I’m not mad because I know why you went. It wasn’t for Matt, although I’m sure you missed him a lot. You went because you wanted to be there to protect your friends. You and I, and everyone else probably knows that Pidge would have found a way out there regardless of whether or not you went along. You would have rather gotten in trouble too than let her go out there alone.”

            Hunk wasn’t sure what to say to that. It certainly wasn’t what he’d been expecting. He’d never really seen Gyrgan get angry, at least not at him, but somehow he’d expected yelling or at least a stern reprimand. Instead Gyrgan was just smiling at him, albeit a bit sadly.

            “I guess so yeah. I mean, I wanted to find Matt to. I just… couldn’t let them go by themselves, especially since Pidge got Lance to go along.”

            “You sound upset about that.”

            “I guess I am. Lance wasn’t the only one she manipulated. She asked him to go with her before me because she knew I wouldn’t let her involve him if I knew first. I’m not really mad at her though – if I knew one of my birth parents was still alive out there, I would probably be just as crazy looking for them. We all have issues after what happened to us, although I think Shiro and I were the only ones with a body count. I’m just mad that someone got hurt. I wanted everyone to stay safe and I thought if I was there I could keep them from doing anything too stupid.”

            Gyrgan nodded. “I understand. I know the kind of person you are – all you’ve ever wanted since the day I met you is to make people happy, to keep people safe. I truly understand why you went with them.”

            “So you aren’t upset?”

            “Oh I’m upset,” Gyrgan laughed. “But I’m not mad. I’m upset that you didn’t talk to me. This is the first time in our time together you’ve ever kept something from me. For three deca-phoeb’s you told me when you struggled, when you had bad dreams, when you were upset or angry, everything – it’s probably why your mental state is so much more stable than all your friends. You talk to me and we work through it together. I just wish you’d talked to me about this.”

            “I thought you’d try to stop us.”

            “I would have, because I knew that Trigel was already in the process of tracking down the woman in that security video – it wasn’t necessary to even get near that sector because our planets have been funding the freedom fighters for a long time and we have many contacts among them. My allies and I have no secrets from each other, it’s why our alliance is so strong. If you had just confided in me like you always do, I could have told you what was happening. But even that’s not your fault. You all should have known what steps we were taking from beginning. There were so many mistakes on both sides of this, and in the end it was the most innocent of us who got hurt.”

            “Yeah. I should have pushed them harder to go home when he got hurt. If I had just been more assertive…”

            “I doubt anything would have changed no matter what you said,” Gyrgan interrupted. “This incident is going to affect all of us deeply for a long time I imagine. As much as we all love each other, we are all still learning how to be a family and amazingly we had three deca-phoeb’s without any incidents. A misunderstanding was bound to happen at some point, but the blame cannot be put on any one person. Trigel, Blaytz, and I are just as much at fault as you and the other two.”

            Hunk sighed and nodded. “So what happens now?”

            “I think we should go home. I had you join the Garrison because I thought it was what you wanted. Now I’m starting to learn that maybe it wasn’t what you needed, any of you. You’re all still kids, and still suffering from the events that took your parents away. We gave you new homes and new families, but didn’t allow you the time to truly settle with us before sending you off to Altea. I think all of us need to go back to our homes.”

            “I think you’re right, but I also don’t want to leave them behind.” Tears welled in Hunk’s eyes. Gyrgan stood up and pulled the burly boy into a hug. He gave him a few strong pats on the back.

            “I’m not saying you’re going to be a prisoner on Rygnirath. You can video call your friends at any time, and it won’t be forever. They'll never be far away and nothing’s going to be able to break the bond you have with them, but I think going back to our homes as families is what we all need.”

            Hunk nodded but didn’t say anything. He simply stood there in his father’s embrace, fat tears rolling down his face, while the big alien comforted him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo many emotions. It was so difficult for me to write this chapter because I just couldn't get into the right headspace for it. I wanted to write a scene with Lance and Blaytz, but it'll have to wait for the next one. 
> 
> Coming up next: Pidge talks to Blaytz, and probably Shiro and Allura talk? And probably Allura and Alfor (maybe)? Basically, there's gunna be a lot of talking I'm so sorry in advance. I'll add in more Klance to make it better. Ah, Lotor to. He'll probably be in there somewhere...


	23. They Will Turn Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone talks. Scars are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAH, sorry again for the long wait. This always happens to me around holiday season. Suddenly time seems to go a billion times faster and before I know it over a week has passed. 
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is once again super feels heavy with some sweet sweet fluff (and Klance) at the end. I'm also bringing you a little Shallura fluff cause that's overdue.
> 
> Uhm, what else can I say? There's a high probability it'll be another week before the next chapter. Life, work, and my own mental issues are kicking me in the pants which makes writing progress slow, but as I said last chapter this fic is still full steam ahead! Your comments give me so much inspiration and keep me motivated and I'm eternally grateful for your support. 
> 
> Last thing, if you have questions or suggestions feel free to let me know! I legit do not proof read, ever, so sometimes i forget certain things and if you point them out i can clarify in a later chapter, or just give you a bit of extra info in the comments.

            Lance woke up again when Blaytz stepped into his room. The Altean sat up as Blaytz walked over and swung his legs off the edge of the bed to rest them on the floor.

            Blaytz stopped in front of him and ran a hand over the now healed scar where his head wound had been. It was just one of Lance’s many scars so he didn’t mind it so much.

            “Makua,” Lance said simply, using the Nalquodi word for father. Blaytz sighed and sat beside him.

            “Keiki,” he responded. Son. Lance let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Blaytz was mad, but if he was still referring to him as his son then everything would be okay.

            “How do you feel?” Blaytz continued.

            “My head doesn’t hurt anymore.”

            “I wasn’t talking about that.”

            “I…” Lance closed his eyes. “I think I’m okay right now but I dreamed about those ships while I was asleep. It wasn’t really a nightmare, but it was me alone in the ship and in front of me were hundreds of pirate ships and it’s like, I knew no one was coming for me.” Lance swallowed hard and cut off his next words.

            “It’s alright. You’re safe. Tell me.”

            “In the dream, I was going to blow up my ship. I was going to kill myself instead of let them take me back.”

            Blaytz snaked a hand around the trembling boy’s shoulders.

            “It was just a dream,” Blaytz soothed. Lance shook his head.

            “It wasn’t though. If we’d gotten hooked, I would have sent Matt, Pidge, and Hunk back to the moon on the jumper, gotten as far away from them as possible, then blow the ship when the boarding parties got close. I know how to overload the ship’s drive core to create a pretty large blast, I could have taken out every ship for at least half a mile.”

            “How do you know how to do something like that?” Blaytz asked, both mildly horrified and impressed.

            “I researched it when I got to the Garrison, then some nights I would sneak away to the simulator to try it and see how big I could get the blast.”  
            “You did this all before Pidge ever asked you to go with her out there, why?”

            “I’m training to be a fighter pilot. I knew that there was a possibility I’d end up in pirate airspace again, and there’s always a risk of capture out there. I always told myself I’d die before going back to being a slave, but I wanted to make sure if it happened I could take out as many enemies as possible.”

            “That kind of thing would take out allies just as easily.”

            “Well this was kind of a last resort kind of plan.” Lance laughed humorlessly.

            “Quiznak,” Blaytz cursed. “Did you even plan on making it back from that trip?”

            “Well yeah I hoped we’d come back safe, but I was going to do whatever I had to do to keep my friends alive. ”

            “Lance you are not the expendable one in this group! Your life isn’t worth any less than theirs.”

            “Isn’t it though?” the Altean said quietly. “Pidge and Hunk are literal geniuses. The things they’ll be able to accomplish in life will probably be able to change the universe for the better. Pidge is only thirteen and she developed cloaking that even the Olkari haven’t managed, and from what she’s told me Matt is just as smart as she is. All of them have so much more to offer than me, and even if I was gone, you’d have Matt.”

            Blaytz stood up abruptly and paced across the room. Keeping his back to Lance, he took a few deep breaths before turning to look at the resigned face of his son.

            “No one can replace you. Exchanging yourself for Matt doesn’t cancel out your death. You are important and I don’t know what else to say to make you understand that.”

            “I wasn’t planning to die! I just had a plan in case things went bad. Pidge needed my help so I went.”

            “She was manipulating you, Lance! She was playing off of your emotions to get you to do what she wanted. She used you without any regard for what it would do to you.”

            “I know she did! I’m not stupid, you know I’m good at reading people. I didn’t get it at first, but I realized what she was doing while we were on the ship when she was trying to get me to engage with the pirates. I also know that something’s not right with her and she wouldn’t have done that if she was thinking right.”

            “That doesn’t change what she did. It doesn’t matter if you knew because she didn’t know you did. And none of this matters because you just sat there and told me you had a contingency plan that involved you dying. Quiznak Lance, eleven quintants ago we all found out you were being abused by your uncle and you hid it for eight months. Now I learn you were sneaking away to the simulators to learn how best to blow yourself up. You stole a ship, put yourself in danger, you nearly died. None of this is okay. You’re not okay. I should have taken you back to Nalquod the moment I found out about Iverson.”

            “I just…” Lance scraped his fingers through his hair then dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t know how to be on Altea. It was easier on Nalquod but here I just feel empty and blank again. Everything is so hard and I was really happy when Pidge said she needed me. It’s okay that she was manipulating me because she honestly needed me and no one has ever needed me before.”

            “Quiznak.” Blaytz strode forward and pulled Lance into his arms while the boy unraveled. Blaytz comforted his crying child like he had done hundreds of times in the past, murmuring in Nalquodi and the common language.

            “Keiki, let’s return to Nalquod. Let’s go home,” Blaytz murmured. Lance nodded his head against Blaytz’s chest.

            “Okay, makua.”

            They stayed like that for some time longer until the crying ceased and the trembling stopped. If only it meant the boy was better, but Blaytz was having to face the fact that his son was still very much not okay.

            “There’s someone I need to go talk to, but tell me what you need from me first.”

            “I want to see the ocean.”

            “Soon. For now, how about the pool? Not quite as big but lets you go for a swim.”

            “A swim would be good.”

            “Will you be okay on your own?”

            “I’ll be okay.”

            Blaytz pulled Lance close again and pressed a kiss to he top of his head. He stayed there for a few dobash, the Altean pulled close, before finally loosening his grip and standing up.

            “Call me if you need me. Promise me that.”

            “I will.”

            “Good. I’ll be back soon.” Blaytz strode out and Lance cried on his own for a little longer.

 

\---

 

            Pidge looked nervous when she stepped into the conference room not long after Blaytz had finished speaking with Lance. Her eyes were red rimmed and he guessed the young girl had just finished talking with her mother.

            The rational part of him wanted to be calm and sympathetic – it was obvious Pidge was suffering trauma fatigue, although humans called it something different, but he was having a hard time tamping down his anger. He couldn’t accept what she’d done – even if Lance realized he was being manipulated, that realization alone was its own sort of manipulation.

            Pidge stopped a fair distance away from where Blaytz stood in front of a large holo screen. A blurry, still image was on the display.

            “Do you know what this is?” he asked. Pidge shook her head.

            “You did a good job locking us remotely out of your ship’s systems, but you stole an official fleet ship which means everything that goes on inside the cabin is recorded, both audio and visual. We couldn’t access it remotely, but once we got the ship back we could pull it.”

            “Oh. Have you watched it?” Pidge sounded a great deal more nervous now. Blaytz turned to look at her.

            “We all have, except for Trigel. She wasn’t quite ready. She’s blaming herself for most of this, but I’m not. I heard every word you said. I saw everything you did. Maybe it was the fault of Trigel, Gyrgan, and I for pushing you all to leave in the first place, but what you did out there can’t be excused.”

            “I know what I did was wrong and I’m so sorry Lance got hurt.”

            “You see Pidge, your apology means nothing. You can say sorry all you want, but in the end you still got lucky – you got everything you wanted. You made it back safely, your friends and your brother are alive, Trigel feels too guilty to punish you properly. In the end you don’t really have to feel too badly about what you did because everything worked out, right?”

            “That’s not…” Pidge said.

            “Not what?” Blaytz cut her off. “Not true? I don’t even have the words to convey how cruel your actions were. I keep telling myself you’re only thirteen, but I felt sickened watching that video. Everything you did, everything you said, was geared towards making Lance feel too guilty to say no to you. You played on his past, his fragile emotions, his desperate need to be needed, and you did this all consciously. You did it knowing with almost absolute certainty that he wouldn’t be able to refuse you. You call yourself his friend, but obviously he means far less to you.”

            “That’s not true! I care about Lance but I had to save my brother!”

            “And there it is, your complete lack of regret. You care about Lance, but only as long as there’s not someone more important. And I think it’s even worse because he realized what you were doing to him, did you know that?”

            “He… what?”

            “He _knew_ you were manipulating him. He figured it out – he’s much smarter than you give him credit for. He knew what you were doing, and he went along with it anyways because you’re his friend and he wanted to help you. He was even going to sacrifice himself for you. When the pirates showed up, if help hadn’t come in time he planned to have the rest of you leave the ship on a jumper, then blow himself up to buy you time. He honestly feels that Matt was worth more than him. That’s what your manipulation did to him. You made him feel like someone else’s life had more value than his own. His friendship means absolute, unwavering loyalty and you took advantage of it. I don’t care how young you are or how sorry you say you are because you made him feel as if his life didn’t matter and I can’t forgive you for that.”

            Pidge stood frozen in place, her already large eyes blown wide and silent tears marking tracks down her face. Blaytz’s instincts screamed for him to walk over and give her a hug, to comfort the distressed child and make her feel better, but he clenched his fists and held his ground. Everything had ended too cleanly and there would be minimal consequences, so he needed her to understand the gravity of what she’d done.

            “Lance and I will be leaving Altea,” Blaytz continued quietly. “For an unspecified amount of time. I won’t allow you to see him, at least not any time soon. It will take a long time for me to repair the damage you’ve done to him, and maybe while he’s gone you can get the mental help you need. Trigel will be down to collect you soon, but until then, I want you to sit here and I want you to watch this footage. I want you to see yourself, and want you to see Lance and face what you did.”

            Blaytz didn’t wait for her to respond. He walked past her and out of the conference room. When the door closed behind him he sagged against a walk and swiped a hand over his face. He didn’t even immediately acknowledge Lotor standing across from him. The Nalquodi hated seeing children cry, and he hated even more being the cause of it – it went against every instinct he had, but he’d said what needed to be said. Now he had to live with it and hope it made a difference.

            “Was I too cruel?” he finally asked the half-galra prince.

            “I don’t think I’m objective enough in this matter to give an opinion. There’s a reason I wasn’t in that room with you,” Lotor said. He sounded amused but it did little to mask his anger. Blaytz had told him about his conversation with Lance, and the prince had seen the ship’s footage. He hadn’t taken it well and it had taken several dobash to convince Lotor not to go seek out Pidge himself.

            “I don’t think I was objective enough either, but I said what I had to.”

            “I will need to return to Daibazaal shortly to help settle things and re-deploy our people to their proper stations, but after that my father has granted me leave to spend a short amount of time on Nalquod, if that’s alright with you.”

            “It’s more than alright. As much as Lance misses Nalquod, I know he doesn’t want to leave his friends. You’re presence will help.”

            “I hope so. Do you think he will be alright?”

            “I’m sure he will be. We both know he’s strong. The Universal Fates have been cruel recently, but they will turn again.”

            “Indeed. Now I believe Gyrgan and Hunk made food – I think we both could use a good meal. With the chaos of recent events, I hardly remember eating.”

            Blaytz laughed. “I feel the same way.” He pushed off the wall and strode side-by-side with Lotor through the hallways and towards the kitchen.

 

\---

 

            Alfor waited until Allura was strong enough to get out of bed before sitting down to talk with her about what had happened, and yet the king was at a loss. Allura and Keith had gotten into mischief before, but for the most part it had been the normal kind of mischief that adventurous children were expected to get into.

            This was so very different and it’s something Alfor had never had to deal with before. Allura was a princess, heir to his throne, and he hadn’t known she was capable of such monumental poor judgment. He didn’t know what it meant, or what to do. He’d even contacted the queen and pulled her away from the diplomatic meetings she was attending many light years away to try and get some idea of what to do. The queen had simply smiled in her usual, all-knowing way.

            _“She is your daughter in so many ways, and not all of the traits she got from you are good. You may think now that this is something you would have never done at her age, but is that really true? I love you dearly, but your recklessness has bordered on stupidity in the past. Try to see things from her perspective before you speak with her.”_

The words had made Alfor laugh in mild self-deprecation. The queen was never one to mince words or waste them on empty flattery. It was a trait she’d passed to Allura. He also couldn’t debate the truth of them. As a king, and as a father, he’d long since tamed his reckless heart, but Allura still had that fire within her.

            When the door to the princess’s room whooshed open, the king took a moment to simply take in his daughter. Even weak, she held herself so regally. She would be a marvelous queen, and her strength in keeping the wormhole open for so long had been incredible. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel pride.

            “Father,” the princess greeted. Alfor stepped more fully into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed where his daughter lay.

            “Allura, how do you feel?”

            “Still weak, but I’m getting better every quintant.”

            “I am glad to hear it. You expended a dangerous amount of quintessence, but you did incredibly well.”

            “Thank you.”

            “But we need to talk about what led to this. Please help me to understand why you did what you did. As much as I try, I cannot figure out why you agreed to something so foolish.”

            Instead of looking chagrined, Allura sat up straight, lifted her chin, and fixed her father with a confident gaze.

            “I do not think I made an error in judgment when I agreed to their plan. It was foolish, yes, but they had solid information to investigate and the technology to keep themselves safe. Pidge came to me because she trusted me, and I decided to trust her. That was my only mistake. I should have been able to see through her false promises, but I didn’t. Had she followed the plan we laid out, no one would have gotten hurt and it’s my fault for not realizing how far she’d go.”

            “So you don’t think you did anything wrong?”

            “That’s not what I’m saying. I know what I did was wrong. However, our plan was solid and it could have potentially yielded significant results. I made sure they understood the risks, and I made a choice to help them. I knew how desperate Pidge was to find her brother, and we’d heard nothing about what was being done to find him. I agreed with her that something needed to be done.”

            “I shouldn’t, but in a way I do understand the choice you made. Yet, I’m deeply disappointed that you had so little faith in my allies and I. It’s become apparent that our lack of transparency is partially to blame here, but Allura you have been training in politics and diplomacy your whole life. You know how we operate, and you should have trusted that we were doing everything we could to help locate that boy. You could have come to me, you could have demanded information from me and I would have given it to you, but you didn’t place your trust in me. That is what I am most upset about.”

            “I do trust you father!”

            “Then why did you not come to me? My beautiful daughter, help me to understand why you did not trust me with this?”

            “I said I do trust you! This isn’t about that. I just understand how busy you and the others are. You all rule entire planets, manage one of the most powerful planetary alliances in the galaxy, and you work constantly to bring peace. Father sometimes you don’t even have the time to eat and I thought maybe this was something I could handle. If we could get concrete, actionable information then it would be significantly easier to search for Matt.”

            “You’re reasoning is quite thin. You can’t be blamed for the foolish actions those three made after they went through the wormhole, but in the end you are the one who enabled them.”

            “I apologize for my foolishness, but I stand by my decision.”

            “And you will have to live with that decision. The kids are returning to their planets. Lance is in a state of mental decline and Blaytz isn’t going to allow Pidge to see him for some time. I’m not sure when any of you will see him again – understandably Blaytz doesn’t really trust anyone around Lance anymore at this point.”

            “I can see why he would feel that way, but it wasn’t my place to tell Lance what he could and could not do. He assured me he was alright, and I wasn’t going to belittle him by suggesting otherwise. If we expect him to heal, we need to trust him when he says he is.”

            “Your words are wise, and they have merit, but are still naïve in certain ways.”

            Alfor went silent after that. Allura stared at him, though her eyes were somewhat unfocused as she tried to orient her thoughts.

            “So what will happen next?”

            “Your diplomatic missions will be tabled. Whether you believe it or not, you showed poor judgment and I cannot have you out there representing Altea when I cannot trust your decisions.”

            “I will accept your decision.” The princess didn’t sound happy, but she was too proper to argue outright.

            “You will also be attending lessons with Coran and other senators. It is obvious you still have much to learn. There will be more as I think of it.”

            “I understand, father.”

            Alfor leaned forward and hooked a hand around the back of Allura’s head, flattening her billowing white hair and pulling her forward enough so the king could press a kiss to her forehead.

            “Regardless of what happened, I love you dearly Allura.”

            “I love you too father.”

            Alfor pulled back and stood. “You need more rest. I’ll come see you again later.”

            Allura nodded and the king walked out. She was still tired and felt sleep dragging at her, but for a long time she didn’t move from her sitting position. It was foolish, but the only thing she could think of was that the loss of her diplomatic missions meant being trapped on Altea. She would not be able to visit Pidge, Hunk, or… or Shiro.

            The sound of a knock at her door made the princess flinch before she sat up a little stranger and called out.

            “Come in.”

            The door whooshed open to reveal Shiro. He smiled when he saw her awake and sitting up, Allura matched the expression.

            “You’re awake, I’m glad,” Shiro said.

            “I am, although admittedly still quite tired.” Shiro walked over and sat in the space recently vacated by Alfor and Allura couldn’t stop herself from shifting closer as the boy reached out to take her hands.

            “So much has changed in a short time,” he said quietly.

            “Yes. I don’t think I will be able to see you much anymore. My diplomatic missions will be put on hold until I can learn better judgment.”

            “That won’t change anything.” Shiro leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Allura’s lips. The princess leaned into the kiss, letting herself share in Shiro’s breath for a few ticks before pulling back and looking into his eyes.

            “Do you think what I did was wrong?”

            “I’m not in a position to judge you. I wouldn’t have made the same decision, but you did what you felt was best at the time. You didn’t know that they would break their promise to you.”

            “But I feel as if I should have known. I knew the depths of Pidge’s desperation and I should have realized she wouldn’t be able to stop once she had a lead.”

            “None of that matters now. We can’t change what happened and you just need to learn from this. It’s all you can do at this point.”

            “I know, but no one was supposed to get hurt. I am ready to accept the consequences but he… Lance, will he be alright?” Unshed tears turned Allura’s eyes glassy. Shiro couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss her again.

            “You know he will be. He shares your blood and we both know what kind of unshakeable stubbornness runs in your family,” he said after pulling back. Allura huffed out a laugh.

            “That is quite true.”

            “So stop thinking about it. Let’s focus on moving forward.”

            Allura nodded. “Together?”

            “Always.”

            Another knock on the door interrupted them and Allura once again called out for the person to enter.

            The door opened to reveal Keith. His face went slack with relief when he saw her sitting up and awake.

            “Allura,” he said. The younger boy rushed forward and wrapped his sister in a hug. She laughed a little and hugged him back.

            “I’m alright, Keith.”

            “You slept for three quintants and even after you woke up you were too weak to even talk to us. I almost lost you and Lance.”

            “You didn’t lose either of us. Everyone is safe.” She patted Keith’s back a couple times, but the half-galra didn’t pull away just yet. Shiro reached out and put a hand on his shoulder and the three of them sat there is silence just taking comfort in the presence of the other.

            “I think we all need to relax. How about we go for a swim. Allura you may not be strong enough for swimming, but maybe getting out of this room will be good.”

            “Admittedly I am getting tired of being in bed,” Allura said as Keith pulled away. “I think relaxing next to the pool is just what I need. I may need some assistance getting down there, however.”

            “I would be happy to help you with that,” Shiro said with a little smile.

 

\---

           

            After changing into swimming garments, Allura, Keith, and Shiro made their way down to the pool. The princess leaned heavily on Shiro, who kept his arm firmly wrapped around her to help support her weight. She was unsteady on her feet, but repeatedly assured them that it felt good to be out of bed.

            They chatted quietly, temporarily allowing themselves to forget recent events and what would come next.

            They fell completely silent upon entering the poolroom, however. They stopped, and they stared. They couldn’t help it.

            Lance sat at the edge of the pool, legs hanging in the water with his bare back to them. It was the first time any of them had ever seen him shirtless and they weren’t prepared to see the scars. There were many long, jagged lines crisscrossed across his back where a whip had apparently fallen many times. They looked old, old enough that the three didn’t want to think about how young he’d been when he’d gotten them. They told a story of unspeakable pain not a one of them, save Shiro, could relate to. Yet, even the older boy couldn’t quite comprehend how deep into Lance’s psyche those scars extended. How could he compare his few months to Lance’s seven years?

            Without a word they backed out of the room. Lance didn’t seem to notice. He was motionless as he stared sightlessly down at the water.

            When the door closed in front of them Allura brought up a shaking hand to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes.

            “I didn’t know he had those,” she said.

            “I didn’t either,” Keith replied in a hoarse voice.

            “Maybe we should leave him be. It didn’t look like he wanted company,” Shiro said.

            “You guys go. I’m going to go back in there.”        

            “Are you sure?” Shiro asked.

            “Yeah. He might not want company, but I don’t want to leave him alone.”

            “Alright. Shiro, maybe you and I can go outside and sit among the junberries instead. I could use some fresh air.”

            “Of course. Keith, call us if you need.”

            “I will.”

            Allura and Shiro walked off and Keith had to stand there and mentally prepare himself to go back into the room and face those awful scars.

            With a deep breath, he walked back in and sat down beside Lance. He lowered his legs into the warm water and rested his hand on top of Lance’s where it lay at his side. Lance didn’t acknowledge his presence, but Keith did noticed a slight ease in tension from the slim boy’s shoulders.

            “I’m going back to Nalquod,” Lance said after a while.

            “You figured you would,” Keith replied carefully.

            “But now it feels so real. I have to leave you and everyone else behind.”

            “We already talked about this. It doesn’t matter how far away you go. You have my heart and that’s not going to change.”

            Lance ducked his head. “You don’t mind the scars?” he asked with his voice sounding miserably close to tears.

            “Why would I mind them?”

            “Look at them, they’re hideous. You didn’t know I was this disfigured before.”

            Keith drew his legs out of the pool and scooted back. Lance looked at him curiously but didn’t move. Keith shuffled so he was sitting behind Lance. He spread his legs to either side of the tan boy’s slim hips then brought up a hand to gently trace his finger down one pale scar. Lance shivered but didn’t move.

            “Nothing about you is hideous,” Keith murmured. Once he finished tracing one scar, he moved on to another. “Everything about you is beautiful, even these.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to a scar that ran between Lance’s shoulder blades. The Altean’s next breath was shaky with emotion, but not with fear.

            “Nothing’s ever going to change that for me.” Keith punctuated his words with another feather light kiss to a different scar. The muscles in Lance’s body unlocked and Keith found himself with a lap full of lanky Altean as the slightly taller boy leaned back. Keith shifted slightly so he could better support the weight, then wrapped his arms around Lance’s stomach and hooked a chin over his shoulder. Lance leaned his head against Keith’s and let his eyes flutter closed.

            “I don’t feel safe like this with anyone else except for Blaytz and Lotor,” Lance murmured. Keith smiled.

            “I’m glad you feel safe with me.”

            “I do and I don’t understand. It’s like, all day every day I am afraid and uncertain but I try to act strong. Then I’m with you and somehow I actually believe I’m as strong as I pretend to be.”

            “You aren’t pretending you idiot,” Keith teased. “You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met and you know I’m not the type to lie about that kind of thing.”

            “Thanks mullet,” Lance said with a smile of his own.

            “When you are on Nalquod I want you to call me whenever you feel afraid or overwhelmed. I don’t care what time it is, how silly you think it is, or if I’m doing something important, I will pick up. Promise me that you will call me.”

            “I promise.”

            “Good.” Keith angled his head down and pressed a kiss into the junction of Lance’s neck and shoulder, causing the other boy to shiver again. Keith then smiled against the tan skin before leaning back and shoving the Altean into the pool. Lance barely had time to yelp before he sunk under water and came up sputtering in indignation.

            “I can’t believe you just did that! We were having a moment! You were cradling me in your arms!”

            “Yeah but I came down here to swim,” Keith said with a mischievous little smirk. Lance pursed his lips then lunged forward to grab Keith’s ankles. Before the half-galra could try to muster a resistance he was unceremoniously dragged into the pool and pounced on by Lance.

            When he came up he was laughing and then the pair proceeded to play wrestle until the door to the poolroom whooshed open the reveal Shiro and Allura. They stepped inside with smiles on their faces, closely trailed by Matt and Hunk.

            “This looks fun,” Allura commented as Shiro helped ease her weak form into a chair.

            “Mind if we join?” Hunk asked.

            “No, come in! I was just showing Keith how I can best him in a fight as long as we are in the water.”

            “That’s not true at all sharpshooter,” Keith fired back. Hunk laughed and took a running start, then did a cannon ball causing a tremendous wave to swamp Keith and Lance and splash Matt, Shiro, and Allura.

            “Hunk! I was not planning on getting wet today!” Allura protested. Keith and Lance were completely crippled by laughter at the sight of the now wet and bedraggled princess.

            “It does nothing to mask your beauty,” Matt said with an over-exaggerated bow. Shiro snorted a laugh through his nose, then proceeded to stride forward, haul Matt’s lanky frame over his shoulder despite the screaming protests, and pitch the tall boy into the pool.

            This set everyone into bouts of hysterical laughter. They stayed down there for a few vargas, laughing and forgetting all the darkness that led to them all being there. And they all tried to ignore the gaping hole of Pidge’s absence. They all felt it, and it ate at them all because even with the laughter and fun things just didn’t feel complete without her, but they would face those feelings later. At that time, they all needed to simply laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO.MUCH.EMOTION. Gracious me this was a lot of feelings to stuff into one chapter. What did you think about Blaytz's chat with Pidge? That was a tough scene. 
> 
> Also, I totally intended to have a full Lance/Lotor scene but it just didn't fit. Like, everything that Lance needed to hear was already pretty much covered by Blaytz and Keith. Adding another scene with another person talking to Lance about his feelings just felt redundant. I'll make up for it and hopefully have a full Lance/Lotor interaction scene soon. 
> 
> I THINK a time jump will happen next chapter and then VOLTRON, but right now I'm burned out from writing so many emotions and can't think about that yet, haha. Just know that things are going to start getting INTENSE. Like, if you thought the rescue mission was intense, hoo boy you better strap in. ;)
> 
> Love you all! 
> 
> (OH, P.S. the "Nalquodi" words for father and son were totally stolen from the Hawaiian language. I shortened them, but just FYI in case you were curious how I came up with them)


	24. They Departed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a lot of talking. Everyone talks. Keith and Lance surprise everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry for the delay! I didn't intend for there to be a multi week delay between chapters. I ended up getting the mother of all colds, but of course I came down with it at the beginning of the work week. Unfortunately with my job, I can't take days off even when I'm sick (that's the life of an ESL teacher living in an Asian country where sick days don't really seem to be a thing) so I just had to struggle through an entire week of teaching small humans while getting progressively worse. I ended up losing two pounds in three days thanks to exhaustion and loss of appetite which is really bad for me considering I'm already underweight. 
> 
> Sooooo, that's a summary of how the last week was for me. The good news is that I'm somewhat better now. I slept nearly all weekend and am just dealing with some remaining sniffles and coughing so I was finally able to write the next chapter!
> 
> I did also start a new Klance fic because I wanted to write something a little more light hearted. That one is going to update kinda sporadically but it's a lot of fun! I'll try to go back to a more regular update schedule on this one. 
> 
> Unfortunately this chapter isn't my favorite, but hey it's better than nothing and I hope you enjoy it!

\---

 

            Blaytz sighed as he looked around his now empty room at the castle. Tomorrow he would be leaving back to Nalquod with Lance. His original plan had been to stay on Altea for longer – Alfor swore he was nearly done with his project and had wanted Blaytz to be there and watch it come to fruition. Blaytz had wanted that to. Then everything changed again.

            Blaytz rubbed a hand over his head and thought back to what had brought him to this point. Ever since Elkbrugidus he’d become a different person. He was no longer the jokester, the flirt, the carefree vagabond who also happened to be a king. Now he was an overprotective father who couldn’t seem to focus on anything but the needs of his child. In just over three deca-phoeb’s everything had changed for him, and for his allies. All because of Alfor’s project. The Universal Fates were pushing and pulling them into the direction it needed. After his most recent conversation with Alfor, that could no longer be denied.

            _“The artifacts I had you all collect, they were all shards of the comet that hit Daibazaal. The entire comet was intact aside from those five missing pieces.”_

_“And you still believe this material is somewhat sentient?”_

_“I’m not sure it’s sentient in the way you are thinking, but yes.”_

_“So the only five missing pieces in the entire solar system that should have been scattered randomly across the galaxy instead led us all to finding our children. All orphans, three of whom are connected to each other, and all who seem to fill a void none of us realized we’d had?”_

_“An accurate summation.” Alfor laughed._

_“What does this mean, Alfor?”_

_“I don’t know, but we’ve been using quintessence to infuse some of the material. It’s changed it. It’s as if its awareness is growing.”_

_“And somehow the self-aware rock wanted us to find the kids.”_

_“Yes. There’s more to this all than we ever imagined.”_

_“Why didn’t you tell us this before, when we first went to find the pieces?”_

_“Because there was no connection then. It seemed as if the artifact locations were random. We still didn’t understand it. It’s only now that I’m starting to realize how events seem to have been manipulated.”_

_“And what’s the point in telling me all this now? I understand it’s significant, but I’m still leaving.”_

_“I’m not trying to stop you. I’m just reminding you that everything seems to be happening for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but you and Lance are important to it.”_

_“I understand. Just… don’t let yourself become lost in all of this, my friend. This is important, but not so important that you forget to live your life.”_

_“I know,” the king said quietly. “I know this project is changing me. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent so long in such close proximity, or maybe it’s because I am more sensitive to quintessence. I know I’ve changed, and I know what’s happening to Honerva.”_

_“Then promise me that you won’t let it consume you like it is her.”_

_“I promise. The material is different than the rift, the effect isn’t as dramatic on me. I’ve tried talking to Zarkon, I’ve suggested quarantining the rift and pulling his people away from it but…”_

_“He’s refused,” Blaytz finished for him._

_“Yes. He didn’t say it, but I know the refusal was Honerva’s, not his. When I was still her king I could have ordered her back to Altea, but now she is beyond my reach. She is empress of Daibazaal, and without Zarkon there’s nothing I can do.”_

_“We cannot change his mind. He can see what is happening to Honerva and it’s his choice to listen to her and let it continue. I only hope that one of them sees sense before it’s too late.”_

_“I hope for that as well. Be safe out there. We’ll meet again soon.”_

 

            Blaytz still didn’t know what it all meant. He’d always believed somewhat loosely in the Universal Fates, but this all seemed so much… _more_ than he’d ever imagined. Sentient rocks, quintessence leaking rifts, predestined fates, what was he supposed to think of all that?

            A knock at the door pulled Blaytz from his thoughts. He stepped over and deactivated the lock and the door whooshed open a moment later to reveal a small figure.

            “Pidge!” Blaytz said in surprise. He’d seen nothing of the girl in the three quintants since they’d had their discussion.

            Without a word, she stepped into the room and let the door close behind her. Blaytz stared at her, slightly bewildered, until he notice the tremors that wracked her little body.

            “Pidge,” he said softly. “What’s wrong?”

            “It hasn’t gotten any better!” she said. Her hands were balled into fists as she fixed Blaytz with a somewhat desperate stare.

            “What hasn’t?”

            “I thought that when I found Matt everything would get better. I had nightmares about him or I would start panicking when I thought about him, but he’s back now and I’m not any better! The whole reason I did all of that was so I could get Matt back and be better!” Her breathing was too fast and Blaytz immediately recognized what was happening.

            “Okay, it’s okay.”

            “I’m going to be sick,” Pidge said suddenly. She ran to the bathroom and Blaytz followed close behind. He brushed her hair back as she dry heaved into the toilette.

            When it finally subsided Blaytz pulled her back into the room and made her sit across from him on the floor.

            “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to count to two. You’re going to breathe in for two ticks. Then I’m going to count to two again and you’re going to breathe out for two ticks. Ready?” Blaytz asked. Pidge just nodded, her breath still too fast.

            “One, two.” Pidge took a breath.

            “One, two.” She let out the breath.

            “One, two. One, two.” He kept going.

            “Okay, now let’s go to three ticks. One, two, three.” Breath in.

            “One, two, three.” Breath out.

            “Focus on your heartbeat now. Each time you breath picture it getting slower. One, two, three.”

            They continued like that for a few dobash until Pidge finally calmed down. Blaytz was happy this technique seemed to work for her. It had worked for Lance in the early days, but he’d ended up growing so accustomed to it that it stopped working for him after a while.

            “Are you feeling better?” Blaytz asked. Pidge nodded.

            “Good. Now tell me what’s going on.”

            “I don’t sleep very much. I have nightmares a lot and then I panic. I thought it was because Matt was still out there. I spent every day building things to help find him and that helped. I felt like I was doing something. When we finally saw that video the nightmares totally stopped. I thought if I could just find him and bring him home everything would be better so I focused on that. But now he’s home but I keep having nightmares and I keep panicking and I don’t understand. It was supposed to help, it’s why I did every bad thing I did. I just want to sleep.”

            “Have you told Trigel any of this?”

            “I wanted to but… she’s just so amazing. She thinks I’m so smart and strong and I didn’t want her to be disappointed,” she said. Blaytz sighed. Pidge sounded just like Lance – she was keeping all her emotions a secret because she wanted to make her mom proud. Blaytz had to wonder how he and Trigel had been so blind to what was happening.

            “She would never be disappointed in you. Never.”

            “I know. I know that now and I told her everything. She’s going to get me help when we are back in the Dalterion Belt but… I just don’t understand why I’m not better.”

            “That’s because everything you’ve been doing until now has been a distraction. You threw yourself into all these projects and focused only on Matt. You convinced yourself that finding him would solve everything. Because of that you’ve never confronted the real cause of your nightmares.”

            “What is that?”

            “You know what it is,” Blaytz said as gently as possible. Pidge stared up at him with wide eyes, and suddenly then spilled over with tears.

            “I saw them. I saw them die,” she said. Blaytz stood up and pulled the small girl into a hug.

            “I know,” he murmured.

            “I didn’t want Lance to get hurt. I didn’t. I didn’t.”

            “I know,” Blaytz said again. He patted her back while she cried.

            “I’m sorry he got hurt. I’m so sorry. I wanted to be better and I thought I would be if Matt was back. It wasn’t because he was more important than Lance.”

            “Shhh. It’s alright Pidge. I know.”

            “I don’t want anyone else I love to die.”

            “Listen,” Blaytz said. He pulled back and knelt down so he could more easily look her in the eye. “I was upset with you. I am still in many ways, but I also know that you are suffering and were desperate for a solution. As angry as I am at how everything happened, I am truly happy that you’ve found Matt, and I’ve forgiven you.”

            “But you’re still angry.”

            “You can be angry and still forgive someone. You need to forgive yourself as well, and then you need to work with Trigel to accept everything that has happened to you. You’ve never allowed yourself to come to terms with your parents’ deaths and that is likely the cause of your nightmares. It’s not going to be easy, but trust your mother. She loves you and she will accept every part of you, and she will help you through this as long as you are honest.”

            “I will.”

            “Good,” Blaytz said with a smile. He patted her hair a couple times then used the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tear tracks from her cheeks.

            “Will I ever be able to see Lance again?”

            “Of course you will. He doesn’t blame you for anything that happened. He just needs more time to heal – you’re not the only one who hasn’t been honest about how he is. Right now everything is… difficult, but it’ll get better. Once you and he have gotten better you’ll see each other again, I promise.”

            “Okay.”

            “Now I think you need to go see Trigel. I understand you’re here because you feel guilty, but you need to be honest with your mother about everything. Whenever you have a nightmare, whenever you have an anxiety attack or a panic attack. Promise me you’ll tell her everything.”

            “I promise.”

            Blaytz smiled. “And remember that breathing technique. It’ll help you.”

            “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, Pidge. Come on, I’ll walk with you.”

            “You don’t have to,” she protested immediately. Blaytz shook his head.

            “I want to. Let’s go.” Blaytz stood up and put a hand on Pidge’s back to steer her from the room.

            When they got to Trigel’s room he knocked. When the door opened, the Dalterionite looked between Pidge and Blaytz in surprise. Blaytz just shook his head and gave Pidge a little nudge.

            “Remember what I told you,” he said. Pidge looked up at him and nodded.

            “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome,” Blaytz responded with a smile.

 

\---

 

            Keith was exhausted. Shiro could tell, but the younger boy refused to call off the continuous cycle of gladiator bots. He felled one and another would drop and he would breathing harder and harder. Shiro humored him for quite a while until finally he called an end to the training when the half-galra looked about ready to drop.

            “Shiro!” Keith said angrily. Shiro just crossed his arms and fixed him with a stare. Keith called it his ‘dad’ stare.

            “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Shiro asked. Keith’s face shut down and he turned away to go and grab a water pouch.

            “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. The way he violently stabbed the straw into the pouch belied that somewhat.

            “I think I know you well enough at this point to know when something’s wrong. What have I said about communication? Talk to me, okay?”

            “It’s just…” Keith sighed and turned back around. “I keep thinking about that day on the command deck watching the holo-screen. I was completely useless. I couldn’t do anything except stand there. I watched Lance…he almost…” Keith trailed off and scrubbed at his eyes. Shiro sighed and walked over so he could put a hand on the half-galra’s shoulder.

            “There was nothing I could do either and I think about it a lot too, but they’re back now. They’re safe. Lance is alright.”

            “I think I love him Shiro,” Keith said miserably. Shiro couldn’t help it when his jaw dropped. He knew that the two boys had a good relationship but he honestly hadn’t expected those words to come out of his brother’s mouth.

            “Okay… I wasn’t expecting that. Does he know? I don’t want this to come off wrong, but I’m not sure if Lance is ready for feelings like those.”

            Keith laughed. “We’ve already kissed.”

            “I was expecting that even less.” Shiro honestly felt a little shell-shocked. “Still, Lance is very…”

            “He was the one who kissed me first,” Keith interrupted. “In case you were worried I was pushing him to fast.”

            “Right. Okay. I’m happy for you. So you’re upset he’s leaving?”

            “I’m upset at everything that happened. I don’t want him to ever leave my sight again but I know that he needs to go back to Nalqod.”

            “I know how that feels,” Shiro replied sympathetically. “I love Allura and I had to stand in the command deck and watch her life force bleed out of her while she kept the wormhole open. I don’t want to be mad at her but I’m hurt that she didn’t tell me about any of it.”

            “Yeah, me too. I’m not mad at him but I wish I’d known what they were going to do. He shouldn’t have been out there.”

            “Which is why they probably didn’t tell us. You and I would have stopped them.”

            “Yeah.” Keith looked down.

            “Listen, everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be taking over some of Allura’s diplomatic duties which means you’ll probably end up on Nalquod soon. It won’t be long before you see him again.”

            “I know, but he said he feels safe with me. Do you know what a big deal that is for him?”

            “I can imagine, yes.”

            “I’ve just never felt like this before. I mean when I met Alfor and Coran and Allura, and then you I thought I didn’t need anything else. You four were all I ever wanted. Then I met Lance and I just wanted to protect him so nothing could ever hurt him again. Now he’s all I think about.”

            Shiro laughed a little. “Keith trust me, I understand. I never expected my feelings for Allura. I was just trying to get used to this new life, and honestly I was just grateful to have my friends and my new family. Then she was just so… Allura. Strong and confident and brilliant.”

            Keith had to laugh as Shiro’s expression went somewhat dreamy.

            “I think we’re both hopeless,” he said. Shiro shrugged a bit sheepishly.

            “Probably. Just remember that if the feelings are real then nothing’s going to change if you guys are apart. It may be difficult, but you’ll all be stronger for it.”

            “Thanks dad,” Keith said. Shiro groaned.

            “Please don’t start that. If Pidge catches on it’ll never go away.”

            “No promises.” Keith grinned.

            “Looks like you have enough energy to keep training.” Shiro called the simulator to start and a couple bots dropped from the ceiling. Keith simply laughed and went after them.

 

\---

 

           The day everyone left was much like the last time over three deca-phoeb’s ago. There were tears and hugs, although the biggest surprise to everyone except for Shiro was when Lance and Keith kissed. They shared a tender, chaste kiss before pulling away and burying their heads in each others shoulders and holding the embrace while whispering words too quiet for the others to hear. Everyone just stared at them in open-mouthed shock, something neither boy noticed for some time.

            Poor Blaytz looked about ready to faint. He kept looking from the boys, to Alfor (who could do nothing but shrug helplessly), then back to the boys. Hunk came through to break the shock by sobbing and wrapping the pair in one of his famous bone crushing hugs. Gyrgan, being one who couldn’t resist a group hug, crushed all three. Keith and Lance wheezed out laughs and broke apart and then more goodbyes happened and the moment to question them about it passed.

            Many had noticed Shiro’s lack of shock and he shivered a little as multiple pairs of eyes locked on him, including Allura’s. He and Keith would definitely be interrogated soon. Although that didn’t even come close to the look Lotor was giving Keith. It wasn’t angry… per say. He looked protective, as if he was waiting for Keith to make one wrong move so he could tear the boy apart. It wasn’t until Blaytz put a hand on his shoulder that the prince relaxed a fraction. Lance would probably be getting an interrogation of his own.

            Pidge was noticeably more subdue, but she accepted Lance’s hug with barely restrained tears. Both she and Matt received tearful goodbyes from Hunk, and Shiro couldn’t help but feel a catch in his throat. He’d just gotten his best friend back and now he had to say goodbye again. He just had to remember it wasn’t forever.

            Once all the goodbyes had been said they departed on their ships.

 

\---

 

_One deca-phoeb later: Nalquod_

 

            Lotor couldn’t deny that being on Nalquod was good for Lance. He didn’t carry around the same heaviness in his shoulders that he did on Altea. Lotor had been on the water planet for close to ninety quintants now, and he was grateful he got to see Lance in this unburdened state.

            The prince looked over at him were he sat in the turquoise sand. His already tan skin had darkened further under the blazing Nalquod sun. Thanks to his Altean genetics he’d shifted his form slightly so he sported gills and webbing between his fingers. He didn’t usually bother shifting back on land and he seemed comfortable with those features.

            In truth, Lance positively glowed under the sun – it was almost as if he was a different person. It made Lotor smile. After he left Nalquod he would become so busy that he wasn’t actually sure when he would next be able to see the boy.

            “He told me I was beautiful,” Lance said suddenly. Lotor lifted an eyebrow and turned to face the Altean more fully.

            “Who?”

            “Keith. Before I left Altea.”

            “Ah. You’re lover.”

            “He’s not my lover!” Lance said while his face flushed. Lotor smirked.

            “Oh? And what is he?”

            “I… I don’t know. He means a lot to me.”

            “Alright,” Lotor laughed. “Well whatever he is, usually if two people are in an intimate relationship they compliment each other in such a way.”

            “No you don’t understand, he said I was beautiful after he saw my back.”

            “Ah.” Lotor understood now. “Did you think he would think less of you?”

            “No. Well, not really. It’s just he’s so… gorgeous.”

            “He is. So are you.”

            “My scars aren’t though.”

            “You’re scars don’t change anything.” Lotor said fiercely as he pulled Lance around so he was forced to face him. Lance ducked his head to the side.

            “I know they don’t for you and makua. You’re my family but Keith…”

            “Lance where is this coming from? It’s been a deca-phoeb since then. I thought you were talking to Keith nearly every quintant. Has something happened? Did he say something?” Lotor felt his anger bubbling. If Keith had said something that hurt Lance’s self-confidence even slightly he would fly to Altea and throttle the other boy.

            “No! He’s still amazing, but he is coming to Nalquod soon. It’s been a deca-phoeb since we saw each other in person and usually I go around without a shirt here. When he saw my scars back then it wasn’t for very long and now that my skin is darker they look even worse.”

            Lotor couldn’t help but bring a hand up and flick Lance’s forehead. The Altean let out an indignant squawk and rubbed the spot.

            “Hey! What was that for?”

            “You’re being foolish. Tell me what Keith did when he first saw your scars.”

            “Uh, well…” Lance trailed off looking mightily embarrassed. Lotor just raised and eyebrow and waited.

            “He touched them…”

            “And?”

            “He kind of kissed some of them.”

            Lotor scoffed. “And somehow your worried that now he’s suddenly going to change his mind? That boy has already seen you at some of your lowest points. He’s comforted while you’ve had breakdowns. He’s kissed your scars. He’s called you nearly every day for the entire deca-phoeb you’ve been apart. I’m pretty sure that your scars are going to be the last thing on his mind when he arrives.”

            “I guess you’re right I just can’t help but think…”

            “Lance.” Lotor reached foreword and cupped Lance’s face so the boy couldn’t keep looking away. “I am almost certain that Keith loves you. You told me before that you feel safe with him the same way you feel safe with Blaytz and I. Don’t let your scars take that feeling away from you. They are a part of you and anyone who loves you will love them.”

            “Thank you,” Lance said, looking a bit teary eyed. Lotor sighed and leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead.

            “Sometimes you are such a fool,” Lotor said when he pulled away. Lance pursed his lips and huffed.

            “You totally ruined the moment.”

            Lotor smirked. “I was only stating the truth.”

            Lance screwed his face up before leaning awkwardly to kick some sand onto Lotor’s lap. The prince’s jaw dropped in mock indignation.

            “Fine, if that’s the game you want to play,” he said. He lunged for Lance but the younger boy was already up and sprinting away, his laughter floating back. Lotor went after him and eventually they both ended up tackling each other into the water. They spluttered and laughed, Lotor said something (multiple somethings) about his hair, and they let themselves play without care for a short while.

 

            While this was happening, back on Altea, Alfor stood in the hangar deck looking up at the massive black form of the first of his five creations. There was a buzzing at the back of his mind, a pressure as if something was pushing against it. He stared up at it and smiled as its consciousness touched his own. Everything would be complete soon, and then the universe would be changed forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOHOO, finally Voltron is coming! Things are going to seriously pick up speed now. Boy do I have big plans for the next chapter, it's going to be intense. It'll make up for all the talking of the past couple chapters. 
> 
> Love you all!


	25. No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron sets out into the galaxy.
> 
> The allies change the universe. 
> 
> Lance gets some closure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no real excuse for why this took so long. I've just been tired and for some reason inspiration for the first half of this chapter wouldn't come. I had the second part written for over a week before I was able to write the first part. 
> 
> Funny story though. I think I'm a little TOO deep into the Voltron rabbit hole. I'm a teacher as I've mentioned before, and in one of my classes is a boy named Linus. I've now called him Lance five different times. In one class period I did it thrice! Poor guy is so confused... hahaha. 
> 
> Anyhow, things are going to start getting... a little dark from here on out. Sorry...
> 
> This chapter also has some graphic descriptions of violence, just fyi.

            “Keith!” Lance had barely made it off the ship before the nineteen-year-old spotted his partner and sprinted forward. The half-Galra managed to brace himself just in time to be crashed into by the excited Altean. He wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist and stayed on his feet, but just barely.

            “Hey,” he laughed softly. Lance pulled back, keeping his arms loosely looped around Keith’s shoulders, and grinned at him, blue eyes boring into Keith’s violet ones, his whole face lit up. Three deca-phoeb’s ago Lance had been the taller of the two, but now they stood at nearly the exact same height.

            Keith just took that moment to examine the boy in front of him. His skin had darkened considerably under the Nalquodi suns, making his blue markings glow that much brighter. His hair was a little shaggy, and he’d filled out since leaving Altea. He was no longer long and gawky, overwhelmed by broad shoulders set into a too-skinny frame. Thanks to the constant swimming and training his musculature had improved giving him the lithe form of a professional swimmer and a shoulder to hip ratio that Keith couldn’t help but admire.

            Keith himself had filled out a lot in three deca-phoeb’s. His shoulders weren’t quite as broad as Lance’s, but the type of training he did added bulkier muscles. He was hard and lean where Lance was lithe and fluid. His hair had grown a little too long to be comfortable, but he’d decided to keep the length after Lance had literally fallen out of a chair while watching Keith pull his hair into a bun during one of their video calls.

            “You look even more gorgeous than when I saw you on Nalqod a couple deaca-phoeb’s ago,” Lance said with a wink. Keith smirked and leaned forward to press a kiss to the Altean’s mouth.

            “So do you,” he said against the other’s mouth. Lance smiled and tightened his arms to bring Keith’s lips closer again.

            “Hello Alfor. It’s good to see you. It appears we’ve been all but forgotten,” Blaytz said. He stepped past the embracing boys to clap the Altean king on the shoulder.

            “Indeed. Although I’m quite used to it considering how Keith forgets my existence every time Lance calls, regardless of where we are or what we’re doing,” Alfor said with a laugh.

            Keith couldn’t help it, he pulled back and huffed a laugh before turning to face the king.

            “I’m not that bad, father,” he protested.

            “Oh trust me, you are.”

            “Sorry Uncle Alfor, I’m just too distracting.” Lance had pulled away so he was standing side by side with Keith, but he was still partially draped over the half-galra with an arm around his shoulders. Keith groaned but Lance just grinned again and shot a finger gun at him accompanied by another wink.

            Alfor smiled when Lance called him ‘uncle.’ In truth he’d been calling Lance nearly as frequently as Keith had. They’d spent hours speaking over video calls. Alfor would tell him every single story he could think of about his father. Lance would tell him about things on Nalquod. It didn’t make up for all of their lost time, but it helped.

            “So it seems,” Alfor said with a laugh before turning his attention back to Blaytz.

            “The others are already here.”

            “Good. I’m looking forward to seeing the result of your eight deca-phoeb’s of work.”

            Alfor didn’t respond, he only smiled.

 

            The reunion of all the kids went about as expected. Lance did much the same to Hunk as he'd done to Keith, but with even more gusto. His got a running start and physically jumped onto his larger friend. Hunk had absolutely no problem catching him and twirling him around as if they were long lost lovers in a cheesy romance.

            Keith didn’t bother being jealous, he was well aware of Lance and Hunk’s personalities at that point. When Hunk had arrived a quintant earlier, the burly boy, who had grown even taller in the past three deca-phoeb’s, marched up to Keith with arms open, and the half-Galra could do nothing except let Hunk wrap him in a bone-crushing hug. The bigger boy even lifted him up and spun him around – it wasn’t as romantic as his spin with Lance considering Keith wasn’t the most willing participant, but Hunk had accepted it.

            Once Hunk was done with Lance, Pidge threw herself at the Altean. After almost a deca-phoeb and a half, Blaytz had finally allowed them to speak again. The pair called each other many times after that and talked about everything that had happened. The young human wasn’t completely recovered and she still had obsessive tendencies, but she’d finally been able to acknowledge how wrong her actions were. Lance had, of course, forgiven her immediately,

            Unlike everyone else, Pidge hadn’t really grown any taller, but her frame had filled out thanks to constant training. She and Matt were still genius prodigies and had helped the Dalterion Belt in many ways and had even spent a deca-phoeb on Olkarion learning from the geniuses there. They had both discovered the flaw in Pidge’s cloaking and had been spending a great deal of their time perfecting it. The only issue was that they still couldn’t find a way to keep it from degrading when exposed to super high temperatures like an atmo-burn or the burn trail of a ship. Everything else was nearly flawless.

            Shiro and Allura’s greetings were tamer. They embraced Lance with smiles and soft words. Both looked much the same, only more mature and even more beautiful if possible, and as much as Lance loved Nalquod, he couldn’t deny how happy it made him to be reunited with all of his friends. He had missed them – he only wished Lotor was there with them, but the Galra prince was responsible for running the Galra empire while Zarkon was away.

            Once the greetings had been made, Alfor ushered them all out. It was time for his work to be revealed.

 

\---

 

            “Alfor is the secrecy really necessary?” Trigel asked in exasperation. Alfor smirked and continued leading them toward the secondary hangar bay where his creations waited.

            “Whatever I said wouldn’t make sense. It’s better for you to see them,” the king responded. Blaytz exchanged a skeptical glance with Gyrgan, the latter of whom just shrugged. Zarkon was silent, trusting the word of his closest friend.

            At the door to the hangar, the group stopped. The children were trailing behind their parents. Pidge looked excited at the prospect of finally seeing Alfor’s project.

            Nothing could have prepared them for the reality. Each one of them was struck silent in the presence of the massive lions. The allies all felt the mental nudge, felt themselves connect to the mechanical beasts in a way they’d never imagined possible. Blaytz felt the cool serenity of the ocean, Alfor blazing heat, Trigel the serenity of the forest, Gyrgan the strength of the earth, and Zarkon felt the calm strength of space.

            Each one only listened with half an ear and Alfor explained things to them. Explained about the comet, the vague sentience it had bore. How it seemed to have inter-dimensional properties. How the lions had gained true sentience as quintessence was poured into them during their creation.

            Lance stood beside Blaytz, staring up at the blue lion. Although he couldn’t see any physical movements, he somehow _felt_ it when the lion’s attention turned to him. A deep, vibrating thrum went through him and it took him a moment to realize the blue lion was purring into his mind. He felt a calmness he’d never felt in his life. It was as if the phantoms that haunted his steps were chased away, only to be replaced by an ocean crashing through his consciousness. In her presence, the Altean felt safe. He knew that she didn’t belong to him, but there was something there, almost like a promise. A promise that on one far off day he would be hers and she would be his.

 

 

            The first flight of the allies was filled with elation. Blaytz’s whoops and hollers echoed through the command deck of the castle. They formed Voltron, and as Alfor promised, it changed the universe.

            In the wake of its formation, planets from across the galaxy jumped at the chance to ally with the mighty defender. They lent ships, soldiers, supplies, and the massive intergalactic alliance swept across the universe, erasing slavery and oppression where they went.

            Pirate fleets were reduced to scrap. Slave planets were raided and interspecies coalitions took them over and established new governments. Slaves were freed, spread throughout the galaxy back to their homes or onto friendly planets that welcomed them with open arms and helped them to heal.

            In the first few months, the galaxy was shaken apart. Peace spread, but the galaxy was infinite. There was pain and oppression everywhere and slavery couldn’t be completely eradicated in a day. Voltron and the alliance couldn’t change the galaxy in a few quintants, but they could go after the heart of the intergalactic slave trade. They could go after the three planets so renown for their cruelty that the name was known even on the far reaches of known space. Voltron could go after those planets, and it could burn them to the ground.

 

\---

 

            Blaytz stalked through the streets of Elkbrugidus ignoring the smoke around him. The combined troops of all five allied planets, plus members of dozens of other allied planets, were raiding the planets in the slave belt, freeing slaves and taking them to get the physical and mental care they needed. They were dismantling every horrific thing the Slave Belt stood for. Blaytz left them to their work.

            Behind him the other four trailed, their five lions waiting beyond that, mostly invisible in the smoke swirling through the streets except for the glowing of their eyes. It had been a long time since the allies had participated in a battle like this. They were monarchs and diplomats now, they fought with words in meeting rooms, and yet they all felt blood lust burning through their veins right then. After so many years they could rid the universe of this blight.

            Blaytz turned onto a familiar street. The cages that lined it were empty, their doors hanging eerily open in front of darkened shops while cinders and ash flitted through the air from fires that engulfed other parts of the planet.

            The Nalquodi said nothing when he stopped in front of a familiar shop. He could almost see that little body curled up in the cage out front, broken and bloody and innocent. That image would never leave him.

The raiding parties had already cleared this part of the planet, but they’d had specific instructions to leave this place alone. They reported back the secret door they’d found inside, but left it untouched.

            He remained silent as he walked inside, his allies waiting outside. The shop was dark and seemingly deserted, but it only took a few dobash for him to find the hidden doorway he’d been told about and pull a shrieking, spiny alien from where it hid.

            “Don’t kill me! I’ll give you anything! I don’t even keep a slave here!” he begged. Blaytz ignored the creature and dragged him outside to pitch him at the feet of the allies. They all stared down at him dispassionately.

            Blaytz knelt down in front of him. “You used to have a slave. An Altean child,” Blaytz said.

            “I let him go! I freed him! I don’t know where he is now. I can’t help you find him.”

            Blaytz had to laugh at the audacity.

            “You freed him?”

            “Yes! I helped him escape the planet, but kept it a secret cause that could have got me killed. I risked my life to help him!”

            “Funny,” Blaytz leaned closer, “because when I was carrying his broken body through these streets to my ship all those years ago during the riot, I don’t recall you having been nearby.”

            “You!” Suddenly the alien surged up. A swift kick from Zarkon had him back on the ground. The sharp end of Trigel’s polearm against his throat kept him down. “Do you know how much that slave cost! I spent every piece of GAC I had to buy him! People _envied_ me for having the only Altean slave in the whole galaxy! When you stole him I was ruined. I was a laughing stock and a disgrace! The only person on Elkbrugidus to ever lose a slave! I couldn’t even afford another one!” He was spitting with rage as he spoke.

            “That boy is my son,” Blaytz hissed. Then he pointed to Alfor. “That is King Alfor of Altea, the boy’s uncle. He’s an Altean prince and third in line to the Altean throne, first in line to the Nalquodi throne. He was nearly dead when I found him, because of you.”

            “He was my slave!” the alien shrieked. “It was my right to do with him as I pleased! I had plans for him when he got older!”

            Blaytz’s sword was out in an instant and stabbing through one of the alien’s legs. He shrieked and thrashed, but only succeeded in nicking his neck on Trigel polearm.

            “What plans?” the Nalquodi asked quietly.

            The alien was obviously terrified and in pain, but that didn’t do much to diminish the burning hatred and insanity in his eyes.

            “An untainted Altean child. I could have made back tenfold what I bought him for by selling his virginity. I could have sold his body over and over again after that. I would have been rich! I shouldn’t have waited until he got older. I thought I’d get more bidders that way since not all are interested in children, but I should have sold his body to the first bidder who approached me a few months after he arrived. Then what would have been left of your precious son when you found him?” the alien sneered.

            Blaytz lunged forward and grabbed one of the alien’s horns and used it as leverage to smash his head into the ground over and over again. His allies made no move to stop him. He stilled just before the alien fell unconscious.

            “Kill me!” he screamed through the blood in his mouth. “It won’t change anything! It was still your fault he was even here. You did a poor job of protecting your precious child. I loved how it felt to break his bones. Kid’s bones are so fragile, so easy to break. It sounded so nice when they snapped. Or the sound of him screaming when I whipped him unconscious. Want to know how he sounded when he begged me to stop hurting him? I recorded it and would play it back to help me sleep at night,” he paused to laugh manically. “Go ahead and kill me! I still ruined him!”

            “Kill you?” Blaytz said with a cold laugh. “Don’t you know anything about Nalquod? I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to hand you over to the Matrons of the Deep. You’ll spend and eternity trapped with them in the black depths of the ocean, unable to breath but also unable to die. You will be in agony as the weight of the water crushes your body. The Matrons will shred your soul. They will flay you, fix you, then flay you again. They will keep you sane. They will make sure you are awake and aware and experience every suffering possible.”

            Suddenly all the anger drained from the alien. Of course he knew the horror stories about Nalquod’s Matrons of the Deep. It was one of the reasons few in history had ever dared to try and attack the water planet. The power of the Matrons was universally known and feared.

            “Just kill me! Just kill me!” he shrieked in terror. Blaytz smiled at him.

            “No.”

           

           

\---

 

            Lance and Keith stood on the bridge of the Galra battlecruiser that floated above Elkbrugidus. Galra soldiers milled around them, but respectfully gave the pair a wide berth. They all knew what this moment meant to them, especially the Altean.

           The view screens on the ship showed massive plumes of smoke as the various cities fell. There were other planets that the allies were taking over, other slave planets that they were working to dismantle. They were being a little less….destructive with those other places. After all, once slavery had been abolished and new leadership in place, the planets still needed to be habitable.

            No one felt that way about the slave belt, no one felt that way about Elkbrugidus. No one wanted to re-colonize it. They wanted it razed to the ground. They wanted it to be nothing more than ash and cinders. They wanted all evidence of its atrocities reduced to blackened smears on a deadened surface. Its dirt was soaked with the blood and suffering of the thousands of slaves over thousands of years that had been imprisoned there.

            The takeover had been swift. One of the reasons the slave belt had been operating for so long was because of the vast, comprehensive orbital defense network the three planets had in place. Armed, offensive satellites blanketed the entire area and any unauthorized ships would be fired at from thousands of points all at once. It was widely believed that the defenses were insurmountable.

            That was before Alfor created the lions. Voltron tore through the orbital defenses with ease, turning each defensive satellite into space dust and obliterating any hope the slave belt had of mounting a counter offensive. After that it was easy. The Belt fell within vargas.

            Lance had his arms wrapped tight around his stomach while Keith stood behind him, arms wrapped over Lance’s own. They said nothing as they watched the allied forces dismantle the source of so much suffering. If it was up to the young Altean, he would destroy the planets all together until they were just hunks of jagged rocks floating in the vacuum.

            “It’s really gone,” Lance finally said. Keith squeezed him tighter.

            “It is.”

            “I thought I’d feel different.”

            “How so?”

            “I don’t know.” Lance laughed, but it was a humorless sound. “I guess I thought I’d feel better, like everything that happened to me would just go away when Elkbrugidus fell.”

            Keith pressed a kiss to Lance’s temple. “I wish that could actually happen.”

            “It’s been almost seven deca-phoeb’s. I’ve been off that planet for nearly the amount of time I was on it. I have a family and friends, I have you. I’m happier than I ever knew was possible for someone to be. I feel like those memories should have been erased by now, but I can still feel phantom pain sometimes. Sometimes when I close my eyes I can still hear screaming and laughing. I can still smell it occasionally. No matter how far away from it I get, those memories follow me.”

            “I know,” Keith murmured. “I love you.” It was all he could say. He didn’t have the right words to offer advice or any true comfort. He didn’t know if Lance would ever fully recover from his time as a slave, but he needed the Altean to know he’d be with him through it all.

            With those words some tension eased out of Lance’s body. He pressed back into Keith in an attempt to be as close as possible.

            “I love you to.”

 

\---

 

            Lance couldn’t sleep. He sat up in the darkened room and looked down at Keith’s sleeping figure. Technically they weren’t actually sharing a room, but there wasn’t much that could keep them apart anymore and their parents hadn’t really bothered trying.

            The Altean wasn’t sure what made him get up, slip his feet into the blue lion slippers Blaytz had fabricated for him, and walk down the hallway to another room.

            When he got there he just stood for a few long moments before finally knocking quietly. For a few ticks nothing happened, which wasn’t surprising considering how late it was, but finally the door clicked and whooshed open to reveal a tousled Shiro.

            “Lance,” the older man said in surprise. “Are you alright?”

            “I’m fine. I was just… can I talk to you?”

            “Of course, come in.” Shiro stepped back out of the doorway to allow Lance inside. He turned up the lights a little but kept the room dim. He beckoned the Altean over and they sat side by side at the edge of the bed.

            “Do you feel different,” Lance started without preamble. “Now that the planet you were imprisoned on has been reclaimed by the allies?”

            Shiro sighed as he finally understood why Lance was there. He braced his arms and leaned back, staring blankly ahead for a few moments. Before Elkbrugidus had been razed to the ground, Voltron had gone to that black market trade planet where he’d been a gladiator. They’d overthrown the leadership, freed the slaves, and stayed to oversee the implementation of a new government. Shiro had been immensely grateful and he felt lighter knowing it was gone, but…

            “Not really,” he said. “The things I had to do when I was a gladiator…the things that were done to me… I can’t forget about them. I had to kill to stay alive, and it wasn’t just alien animals I killed. Sometimes it was other gladiators who were there willingly, and sometimes it was other slaves.” The last part of Shiro’s sentence was said in barely more than a whisper.

            “I’m glad that those pits have been closed down and that no one else is going to be subjected to what I went through, at least not on that planet, but it doesn’t change anything that happened. I know that I did what I had to so I could survive but sometimes I still feel so dirty… like I’m tainted. Not all the time, but occasionally it just hits me and I can’t shake the feeling. I don’t think that’s every going to truly go away. It’ll probably get better, but I can’t run from what happened.”

            “I know how you feel,” Lance replied, his own voice just a soft whisper. “I saw so many terrible things. Things that were so much worse than what happened to me. I couldn’t do anything to help the other slaves. I just had to watch them suffer. I really do understand that there’s no way I could have helped them, but I feel guilty sometimes because I escaped and they didn’t. And I was never— no one there ever touched me— that way.” Lance paused and swallowed audibly. Shiro sat back up straight and put a hand on his shoulder.

            “That’s not something for you to feel guilty about,” he said softly. “I feel guilty because I had hurt other people to stay alive but I don’t feel guilty for surviving. You shouldn’t either. All those slaves have been freed. We won.”

            “I know but now they have to live with what happened to them. I know what it’s like and how hard it is, but I can’t help them. I should do something to make it up to them. I should…”

            “Lance.” Shiro squeezed his shoulder softly to stop him. “You don’t need to make anything up to anyone. The rescued slaves are being returned to their homes. If they don’t have homes, all our various allies will be taking them in and helping them recover. They’ll get all the help and support they could possibly need.”

            The Altean nodded and took a deep breath in, then out.

            “Thanks, Shiro.”

            “Of course. You can talk to me any time you need. I know you and I aren’t as close as we are with others, but I think we both understand each other in a way our friends can’t.”

            “That’s true,” Lance said with a humorless laugh. “I kind of wish we didn’t share this understanding though.”

            Shiro echoed the laugh. “Me to.

            “I should head back before Keith wakes up. He’ll probably freak out if he realizes I’m gone in the middle of the night.”

            “So I guess that means he snuck into your room again?” Shiro said with a raised eyebrow and a little smirk. Lance smiled genuinely.

            “I mean, is it really sneaking at this point if everyone knows it’s happening?”

            “Good point,” Shiro laughed.

            “G’night Shiro, thanks again.”

            “Night, and any time.”

           

            Lance stood up and walked out of the room. Shiro locked the door behind him and then turned around to see Allura poking her head out of the bathroom. She was a mess of tangled curls and rumpled pajamas looking like she’d had to quickly jump out of bed and hide, which is exactly what she’d done.

            “Do you think he knew I was here?” she whispered. Shiro laughed and shook his head.

            “He had no idea.”

            Allura sighed and stepped fully out of the bathroom. Shiro turned the lights down again climbed back into bed, and the princess crawled in beside him. Once she was comfortably tucked into his side they both let out sighs.

            “Is he okay?” Allura murmured.

            “I think he’s going to be fine.”

            “Are you okay?”

            Shiro smiled. “I think I’m going to be fine too.”

            “Good. Then let us get some rest.”

            “Yes, princess.” Shiro pressed a smiling kiss to her forehead and then closed his eyes.

 

            Back in Lance’s room, the Altean couldn’t help but bounce onto the bed and gently shake Keith awake.

            “Keith,” he whispered. The half-galra made a garbled noise and turned on his side. Lance smiled and leaned over him and proceeded to poke his cheek repeatedly.

            “Keeeeeeeeeith,” he stage whispered.

            “What?” Keith’s voice was muffled from his face being buried in a pillow.

            “Allura has totally been sneaking into Shiro’s room at night.”

            All of a sudden Keith’s vaguely feline ears perked up and he turned his head so he could look at Lance out of one eye.

            “How do you know?”

            “I went to talk to him and she was hiding in the bathroom.”

            “How did you know she was there?”

            “Well her robe was draped over Shiro’s chair, and there’s no reason it should have been in his room.”

            “Wait,” Keith said. He sat up and looked at the smiling Lance fully. “It’s the middle of the night. Why were you going to talk to Shiro? Are you okay?”

            Lance froze and he backed away a little, his eyes drifting down so he could escape his lover’s stare.

            “I just… he… with everything I wanted to see how he felt, and if he felt the same as me after those planets were overthrown. He kinda understands, a little about how it all is.” Lance struggled to form the words but Keith understood fairly easily. He relaxed a bit, then threw his arms around the slim Altean and pulled him down. Lance yelped at the sudden action, but allowed the half-galra to wrap him in his arms.

            “It’s okay. I get it. Do you feel better now?”

            “A little, I guess.”

            Keith could see that his partner didn’t really want to talk about the matter so instead he dug his fingers into Lance’s side and began tickling. Lance yelped again and began wriggling to get out of the other boy’s grasp.

            “Keith!” he shrieked. Keith just laughed and kept going until Lance was red and panting from laughter, then he stopped and flopped his full weight on top of the Altean who let out a loud ‘OOF.’

            “You’re heavy, get off,” he whined.

            “It kinda comfy right here.”

            “It’s not fair that you aren’t ticklish!” Lance yelled, trying his damndest to throw Keith off.

            “Use some of that amazing Altean strength to throw me off then.”

            “Galra are just as strong as Alteans! Get offfffff.”

            “I can’t. I think the gravity generators in the castle are malfunctioning. I can’t move.”

            “We’re not even in space you plum!”

            “What’s a plum?”

            “Hunk says it’s a purple fruit he liked to eat on his home planet.”

            Keith shook his head and laughed, wondering why his partner chose to use an Earth fruit as his insult, but finally relented and rolled off the other boy. Lance flipped to the side so his back was to Keith and pouted.

            “You fight dirty.” Lance sounded petulant. Keith scooted so he was spooned against Lance’s back and draped an arm over his stomach.

            “I know, I know.” He kissed the back of Lance’s head. “But I can’t wait to tease Shiro about Allura sneaking into his room. I mean everyone knows we do it, but those two are trying to be all proper about their courting.”

            Lance laughed a little, his pouting easing up as he settled against the warm body at his back.

            “I’m glad no one expects us to do that. It seems really tedious.”

            “To be fair, they did expect us to do it, but when father tried talking to us about all the proper customs you literally laughed in his face and told him no. No one really knew how to react after that.”

            “It was so silly! Nalquodi don’t do things that way, and I wasn’t going to either. I mean all that stuff about chaperones, and tokens, and waiting periods, and courting periods, it’s so useless. I love you. You love me. Why does there have to be a bunch of traditional ritual stuff involved? Shiro and Allura can do all that but I want nothing to do with it. On Nalquod if you like someone, you flirt. If they like you, they flirt back. Sometimes all you do is flirt. Sometimes you date. If you end up liking each other a lot, you become mates. You just do whatever feels right to you and your partner. It’s much simpler.”

            “I think that’s the perfect way for us to do things,” Keith replied affectionately.

            “Glad you agree, mullet.”

            “Oh come on, it’s not even that mullet thing anymore. I grew it all out.”

            “I noticed. Did I thank you for that today already?”

            “No but you thanked me yesterday.”

            “Ah. Well then I need to make up for today. I love your long hair, thank you for growing it out.”

            Keith’s laughed ruffled the delicate hairs at the base of Lance’s neck and caused him to shiver.

            “Glad you approve. Go to sleep now.”

            “Love you.”

            “Love you to.”

            Lance fell back to sleep easily, and in the back of his mind there was a distant purring that submerged him deeper into a calm rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhh warning for next chapter. It's... well... I'll just say sorry in advance.


	26. Don't Forget That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor arrives back on Altea. 
> 
> Lance makes an offer. 
> 
> Everything changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll come right out and say this is a pretty sad chapter. We're not getting to canon show events yet, but this is setting up a headcanon I've had about stuff in the show. 
> 
> Just keep the tags in mind when reading this update.
> 
> Love you all!

_Altea_

 

            “You’re staring,” Lotor commented dryly. Lance didn’t look away, he just grinned at the Galra-prince.

            “You know you’ve gotten pretty handsome. Almost as handsome as me,” the Altean said. Lotor closed his eyes and laughed.

            “And you are just know noticing?” Lotor replied wryly.

            “Nah, just figured I should tell you. I’m glad you’re here.”

            Lotor set his data pad down and patted Lance’s head a couple times.

            “You already said that, but I’m glad to be here as well. I regret that my duties kept my away for so long.”

            “I totally get it. I mean after you spent all that time on Nalquod we both knew it would be a while before you were able to take anymore breaks. And then with Zarkon being busy with Voltron it’s been up to you to run the Empire.”

            “Indeed. Voltron has changed the universe.” There was something in Lotor’s tone that made Lance’s smile drop. When most people talked about Voltron it was with reverence or awe. It was a legendary defender of the universe. Everyone in almost every corner of the galaxy had heard its name. Lotor’s tone was sad.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “My mother.”

            “Honerva still isn’t well?”

            “It’s more than that. She’s obsessive. Well, she’s been obsessed with the rift for a long time, but it’s different now. She used to speak with Shiro and I despite it all. She used to ask about you quite often, and now that’s all stopped.”

            “I’m so sorry.”

            Lotor shook his head. “Don’t worry about this. It’s not your burden to bear.”

            “Pretty sure you’ve been bearing a ton of my burdens for eight deca-phoeb’s or something. I can listen to you sometimes too.”

            “Your burdens were far more cumbersome.”

            “Nah I don’t think that’s how family works. Just because my stuff was a bit worse doesn’t mean your stuff is less important.”

            “You’ve gotten so wise.”

            “Well the super smart heir of the Galra Empire helped raise me so I think some stuff wore off.”

            Lotor rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile on his face.

            “Your skills at flattery certainly didn’t come from me.”

            “No that was definitely Makua.”

            “Obviously.”

            “Do you know where you’re headed after you leave Altea?”

            “I’m going to one of the outer systems. There’s a planet that’s long been under pirate control and most of the population has been enslaved for generations. Thanks to Voltron the pirate presence has disappeared and the slavers have fled, but the residents don’t have the means or knowledge to really set up their own government – they’ve been oppressed for far too long. We’re going to try and bring them into the alliance and help them.”

            “Wow, that’s great.”

            “It is, but they are distrustful. After being under outside control for so long, they don’t trust we will not do the same thing so we’re going with only a small envoy. I think you well know that after slavery it’s difficult to trust anyone.”

            “Then maybe I should come with you,” Lance said after a moment’s hesitation. Lotor’s eyebrows shot up.

            “You want to go out there with me?”

            “Yeah I mean, I might be able to help. Like you said, I was a slave. I know what it’s like. If they know that a former slave was adopted by one of the members of Voltron it could help them trust us more. I could also speak with them and help assuage some of their concerns. I understand if you think it’s a bad idea though, I know I’m still not great around new people.”

            “No I actually think that’s an excellent idea. I think your presence there could genuinely help. If you’re sure about this then I will bring up the idea with my father and the other paladins.”

            “I’m sure. I want to help in any way I can.”

            Lotor couldn’t keep the pride from his smile and his voice. The tall boy in front of him was happy, filled with life, and eager to help however he could. No one would have looked down at him if he wanted to live a life of peace and simplicity on Nalquod. They wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to interact with anyone except his close friends and family. He’d experienced things no one, especially not a child, should have ever had to experience. For his first and most impressionable years he’d known only abuse and fear, and yet he was kind, he wanted to help others in any way he could.

            “You’re a remarkable person.”

            “Oh stop,” Lance said. He sat back and turned his face away to hide his blushing face. Lotor smiled and laughed.

            “It’s true.”

            “Stop!”

            “Truly remarkable. The most remarkable,” the Galra prince continued. Lance started laughing.

            “You’re as embarrassing and Makua!”

            “I think your family is supposed to be embarrassing.”

            “Aren’t Galra supposed to be stoic and stern?”

            “Yes, so isn’t it a good thing there aren’t any other Galra here?”

            “Go back to reading your reports.”

            “I don’t think I will. This is more fun.”

            After that Lotor continued his half-joking praises in an effort to make the younger Altean blush, while Lance hummed loudly and hit him with pillows to try and make him stop.

 

            Not much more than a varga later, the door opened and Shiro stepped inside. Lotor and Lance had settled down, and the half-Galra prince greeted the human boy with a small smile.

            “You’re back. I’d heard you were busy at the Garrison,” he commented. Shiro stepped into the room and sat beside Lotor.

            “When I’d heard you’d arrived I made excuses to leave. It’s good to see you, brother,” Shiro replied.

            “It’s good to see you as well. How are things with Allura. Lance tells me she’s been sneaking into your room at night.”

            “That’s supposed to be a secret,” Lance hissed. Lotor just smirked.

            “I… well. No… we are courting properly.” Shiro continued stumbling over his words until Lotor laughed.

            “It’s alright, I’m not planning on revealing it. I just rarely get to see you flustered so I had to take this opportunity.” Lance couldn’t help but laugh along with the half-Galra. Shiro huffed in consternation.

            “No one believes me when I tell them you actually have a sense of humor,” Shiro said to his brother. Lotor’s smirk slipped back into space.

            “Of course not. I’m the respectable heir of the Galra Empire.”

            “Yes, yes,” Shiro placated. “I hear you’re headed to the outer rims soon.”

            “Indeed. Lance has asked to join me.”

            Shiro face lit into a smile. “That’s a great idea. Him being there could really help them to trust us.”

            “Thanks Shiro,” Lance replied with an embarrassed smile. “I don’t know if Makua will agree though.”

            “I’m sure he will. He has every faith in you,” Lotor replied.

            “I was supposed to join that mission and play a similar role, but father needs me to stay on Altea. A delegation from a trio of allied planets is coming and he wants me to represent him in a meeting with them alongside Allura. Apparently the paladins have something else to take care of.”

            “I heard about that. I’m happy to see how much trust he has in you,” Lotor said with genuine affection. Shiro smiled back.

            “He is placing a lot of faith in me. I won’t let him down.”

            “I know. Now I should go and speak with the paladins. I am supposed to leave in two quintants so if Lance is coming we need to make arrangements.”

            The prince stood and Shiro and Lance followed suit. They all talked lightly as they walked and took a moment to appreciate them all being together again.

            

\---

 

_The outer rims_

 

            “Get to the command deck!” Lotor shouted. The emergency klaxons in the Galra cruiser were blaring while emergency lights bathed everything in an eerie red glow. Blaster fire sounded from around the corner while Galra soldiers filtered past Lotor and Lance towards the command deck.

            “How many have boarded the ship?” Lotor asked, grabbing an operations specialist as she ran by. The wide-eyed Galra looked up at him.

            “Before we had to evacuate ops we counted hundreds. There were seventeen total breach points at that time, but those explosions we hear are probably more breach holes being created.”

            “Did you manage to send our distress signal?”

            “We got it out before they shut down communications.”

            “Good, get to the command deck and see if you can get any long-range comms back up. Lance, you go to,” Lotor said. The Altean was noticeably paler than usual, and his knuckles were white where they gripped his blaster too hard, but even so he shook his head.

            “I’m staying with you.”

            “Lance, now isn’t the time to put on a brave fa—“

            An explosion rocked the corridor. Lance was flung back and landed hard, his breath crashing out of him as the butt of his blaster smashed his sternum when he landed on top of it.

            While he struggled to re-learn how to breathe, shouting was going on around him. Blaster fire echoed everywhere, and the world seemed to slow into jelly as he pushed up and took in everything around him.

            A blown out section of the wall was hooked with a breach tube. Pirates were funneled in the entrance of it exchanging fire with the Galra who had been in the hallway. His eyes swept around and a distant part of him knew time was moving faster than it seemed to him, and yet he couldn’t shake the confused state until he saw Lotor’s prone form a short distance away.

            Lance cried his name and leapt over. A blaster shot skated by him and marked a red streak across his face, but otherwise spent itself uselessly against the wall at his side. The Altean brought up his blaster and barely took the time to sight before he fired off five shots in rapid succession. The fire of the other, much larger Galra distracted the pirates and gave him cover to pick off anyone visible in the breach tube. He didn’t miss and it forced the invaders farther back into the tube.

            The Galra soldiers swept forward to create a barricade between the pirates and their prone leader, and Lance finally turned his attention back to Lotor. What he saw made him go cold, made everything inside him go still and silent.

            There were three gaping holes in the Galra prince’s chest where he had taken blaster fire after impact. The wounds wept blood that appeared black in the dull glow of the emergency lights.

            Lance shucked his jacket and pressed it against the wounds, and his heart leapt in joy when he heard Lotor groan.

            “Lotor! Lotor!” he shouted.

            “Lance, go. Get to the command deck and seal the doors.” The half-Galra’s words sounded wet and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

            “Not without you!” Lance said firmly. He wasn’t as tall as Lotor, but his Altean strength allowed him to heft the prince up.

            “Cover us, we need to get him to the command deck!” Lance barked at the Galra soldiers. They nodded and as a unit began moving backwards, the soldiers keeping up a continuous stream of suppressive fire to keep the pirates back.

            When they got to the first corner, another group of boarders appeared around the opposite corner down the hallway back the way they had come from. Lance pulled Lotor around the corner and lowered him gently before joining the others to lay down more fire and keep the pirates from surging forward.

            “I’m taking Prince Lotor to the command deck. Continue suppressing them here. I’ll give you five dobash to get to us and if you aren’t there we’re sealing the doors,” Lance said.

            “Understood!” one of the Galra barked without hesitation.

            “Lance,” came Lotor’s garbled voice.

            “Don’t talk, we’re almost there,” Lance replied. He once again lifted the prince up and swiftly wound through the hallways.

            Armed Galra soldiers stood at the entrance to the command deck and immediately surged forward when they caught sight of Lance carrying their prince and commander.

            “Keep guarding here, and seal the doors in five dobash no matter what,” Lance said to them as he walked past. They shouted their affirmative while Lance rushed in.

            Out of the hundreds of Galra that occupied Lotor’s small cruiser, only a couple dozen had made it to the command deck.

            “We need a medic!” he immediately shouted, setting Lotor on the floor as gently as possible.

            A couple Galra rushed forward and examined the prince with shell-shocked expressions.

            “I’m just a trainee, I don’t know what I can do with this. All we have in the command deck are emergency supplies.”

            “Do whatever you can,” Lance said. As much as he didn’t want to, he left Lotor’s side and went to the Galra who were frantically scanning through the control terminals and security feeds. Those cameras showed dead Galra scattered around, pirates infesting the ship, and destruction everywhere.

            “How much power do we have remaining?” Lance asked to those at the terminals. One of the operations specialists turned to him with a grim face.

            “They drained a lot, we’re at less than thirty percent.”

            “What about the ships out there, are they still firing at us?”

            “They stopped after their people boarded.”

            “How long could we last if they started firing at us again?”

            “Not long. Ten dobash at most.”

            “Can we seal off the command deck from the rest of the ship?”

            “We can seal the doors.”

            “No, I mean can we isolate this room so that if the rest of the ship depressurized we wouldn’t be affected?”

            “We can.”

            “Can you tell how many of your people are still out there alive?”

            “We’ve already checked. It looks like any that weren’t killed are quickly being pulled off ship via the breach tunnels.”

            “So we don’t have anyone alive and free out there?”

            “Very few.”

            “Then as soon as the command deck doors seal in three dobash I want you to turn off life support for the entire cruiser. Gravity, air, heat, pressure, everything. Shut it all down and vent the ship.”

            “The only reason their ships aren’t firing at us is because their people are on board. If we kill them all they’ll have no reason to not to destroy us.”

            “I know, but once life support for most the ship down we can divert all that extra power to our shields and bolster the shields around the command deck so they can’t breach the hull here. It won’t buy us much time, but hopefully it’s enough. Ops managed to get our distress signal out before they jammed us. Voltron is coming, we just have to last until then.”

            “Understood. Two dobash and we vent the ship.”

            Those two dobash lasted the short eternity of a blink of an eye. No other Galra came through the doors. The guards standing in front of it stepped inside and the hatch closed.

            “Command deck sealed,” a faceless Galra announced.

            “Venting the ship in ten ticks. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five…”

            Lance watched the security feeds and listened to the countdown with half an ear. Three. Two. One.

            Lights in the corridors dimmed. Airlocks opened. Safety and life support systems shut down. Pirates near the airlocks were vented into space thanks to the force of the depressurization. Any that were far enough away spasmed, clawed at their throats and face, and quickly went still. Among them were a few Galra who hadn’t been taken off ship yet. They all floated motionless through the darkened hallways. There were too many to even count. Hundreds.

            “All power diverted to outward shields,” another faceless Galra announced. A moment later the ship shuddered as enemy ship fire was absorbed by the shields. More violent shudders came when breaching pods unsuccessfully tried to penetrate the bolstered shields around the command deck.

            “Any new signatures on our scans?” Lance asked quietly. He stared out at the pirate fleet that surrounded them. He watched the shields ripple as their blasts were absorbed.

            “Nothing,” a soldier replied. They were all bathed in an eerie silence. There was nothing for them to do or say. Their weapons were down. Their ship was dead in the air. Communications were jammed. All they could do was stand there and wait for their shields to fail.

            Lance stumbled numbly back over to Lotor. To his surprise the prince’s eyes fluttered open. Lance knelt down and took his hand.

            “You made the right call,” Lotor rasped.

            “Some of your people died to.”

            “They would have died anyways. The pirates lost hundreds of their people because of you. It was worth it. I’m proud of you.”

            “Shields down to 20%,” someone announced.

            “Voltron is coming. Just hang on a bit longer.”

            “Lance, you are the closest person to me in this life.”

           “Stop talking like that, please.”

           “Listen. You truly changed my life. Because of you I learned how to care for others. I became a better leader and a better person. Blood means nothing – you are my true brother.”

           “Of course I am. When we get back let’s do a spa day. I told you I found a new face mask. I didn’t understand most of what the vendor said was in it so that must means it’s good.”

          Lotor laughed wetly and Lance tried to ignore the resigned look on the face of the trainee medic.

          “Shields down to 10%.”

          “I think it’s time you get Keith into face masks.”

          “Keith barely remembers to brush his hair. Without you no one will do spa days with me.” Lance was desperately trying to keep his voice even, and failing. Tears were gathering in his eyes and his chest felt too tight, as if he couldn’t take a full breath. His whole body trembled.

          “Shields at 5%.”

          “I love you as my own family. Don’t forget that.” Lotor let out a rattling breath and his eyes fluttered shut. Lance shot forward and shook his shoulder.

         “Wake up! You can’t go to sleep.”

          Chatter exploded in the command deck. Lance looked up only briefly and his face was illuminated by the light of the massive wormhole that appeared in front of them.

          From it flew fives lions, and in a tick they had combined to form the legendary defender. Lance didn’t keep watching to see them subdue the pirate fleet, he just turned back to Lotor.

          "Voltron’s here! Lotor your father is here with Voltron. They’re here!” he said desperately. Lotor didn’t move. His chest didn’t rise, the medic just looked at him sadly.

          “No!” Lance screamed. He frantically moved his fingers to Lotor’s pulse points to try and find any sign of life. He shook him, he yelled at the medic to do something. No one moved. The Galra in the command deck went quiet. They looked down at the fallen prince and his weeping Altean brother.

          “Please. Please. I need you. I’m still not better. I just pretend. I’m not better and I need you to help me be better. Please.”

          “Prince Lance, he’s gone,” the medic said softly.

           The world lost its coherence after that. Nothing existed. There was no sound. There was no light. There was just Lance trapped in a world of darkness with the body of one of the people he loved more than anything. He kept beseeching with soft pleas.

          He didn’t notice when the Galra troops unsealed the command deck doors. He didn’t notice when Zarkon and Blaytz entered the room. He didn’t see the utter devastation on the Galra Emperor’s face. He didn’t see the shock and horror on the faces of the other paladins.

          He only reacted when Blaytz tried to gently pull him away, but Lance didn’t even recognize it was him. He jerked out of the hold and clung to Lotor’s body, soaking the Galra prince’s shirt with his tears. No one tried to move him after that. He cried until he was so numb that eventually even Lotor’s body stopped existing.

          Only then was Blaytz able to lead the unresponsive boy from the room. He walked robotically to the Blue lion. The other Galra cleared out and Zarkon was left alone with the body of his child.

 

\---

 

            “It was a trap.” Lance’s voice was distant. It felt as if someone else was talking even though the words were coming out of his mouth.

            “We welcomed the envoy on board the ship. They were supposed to escort us down planet side and we thought everything was going well. Then the fleet showed up and the envoy turned out to be a group of saboteurs. Somehow they took down our main shields and we got hit with breach tubes. Then they jammed our communications. We were overrun in in a few dobash.”

            Keith was at his side as the Altean woodenly recounted events to the paladins, but he didn’t know what to do. Lance still had Lotor’s blood on his hands, but he didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes were distant and glassy and he didn’t respond at all to Keith’s touch when he tried to offer comfort.

            When the story was finished Zarkon cut off Blaytz before he could try to prod the boy out of the room to get cleaned up.

            “Let me talk to him,” the emperor said. Blaytz looked at him for a long moment, then nodded and motioned Keith to follow him. The half-Galra was hesitant, but begrudgingly left with Blaytz. Lance hardly seemed to notice.

            “Lance,” Zarkon said softly. He stayed a short distance away knowing how the child still had issues with touch and people crowding him.

            The young Altean turned his head slowly as if the small movement took a great effort.

            “Emperor Zarkon, I’m sorry. I tried to save him,” he said in a broken voice.

            “I know.”

            “If I’d just listened… he was trying to tell me to go to the command deck. I refused and he was trying to convince me. If I had just listened maybe—“

            “Stop,” Zarkon said. “I spoke to my people who were in that room with you. It was your quick thinking that saved all of their lives. Lotor’s death wasn’t your fault, but you are responsible for saving over a dozen of my people who would have otherwise been killed. You acted like a leader when they were left without hope. Lotor was undoubtedly proud of you.”

            Lance began to crumble at those words. ‘Lotor’s death.’ They rattled around in his head. Lotor’s death. Lotor was dead. He was truly dead.

            “He’s gone,” Lance whispered. He looked down at his hands and the dried blood that covered them. “He’s dead.”

            “Come with me,” Zarkon said. He walked over and gently pulled the smaller boy to his feet. He tugged him into the restroom and turned on the water and quietly helped get the blood of his hands.

            “You did everything you could,” Zarkon murmured. “You carried him away from the fighting. You got him to safety. No one else could have done anything better.”

            “But he’s still gone.” Lance’s voice cracked.

“Yes.” That one word was filled with a storm of emotion, something the Emperor of the Galra rarely allowed to show.

Zarkon turned off the water and used a soft towel to pat the child’s hands dry before leading him out of the restroom. They stopped next to the couch but didn’t sit, Lance just looked up at him, eyes shiny with tears.

            “I’m so sorry Emperor Zarkon.”

            Zarkon put a big hand on Lance’s shoulder and bowed his head. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath in an effort to maintain his composure.

            “So am I.”

            “I don’t know what to do now. I need him. He was… he always… he helped me with all the bad things I can’t stop thinking about sometimes. I don’t know how to do this all without him.” The tears ran steadily down his face now.

            “All you need to do is live the best you can. It’s all he ever wanted for you. Be brave when you need to, be weak when you need to. Just live your life how you need. He always spoke of how strong you were, so it’s time to get just a little stronger.”

            Lance bit into his lip hard, unable to stop his tears, but he nodded. He would live well. He would do all the things he’d told Lotor he wanted to do during their lengthy calls that usually happened at some strange time of day for one of them.

            “Okay,” he said weakly. Then again louder, “okay.”

            The door to the room opened and a pale face Shiro stepped him. His steps were hesitant as if he didn’t want to face the truth the room contained, but when he saw Zarkon and Lance standing there draped in sorrow, tears streaking down the latter’s face. His shoulders drooped and his face fell.

            “It’s true?” he said in a near whisper even though he already knew the answer to that question.

            “Yes son, it’s true,” Zarkon said sadly. Lance stepped forward, mouth open to form an apology.

            “Shiro I’m so so—“ Shiro cut him off by taking a couple big steps forward and crushing the slightly shorter man in a hug.

            “It’s not your fault,” he said fiercely. “It’s not your fault,” he repeated more softly.

            Lance nodded and wrapped his arms around his friend, clinging onto him with enough force to make the human wince, but Shiro didn’t pull away. Lotor had been a brother to both of them, and for a long time they just stood there and clung onto each other in an effort to stave off the crushing sorrow that threatened to overwhelm them.

 

            It was a long time before either boy felt steady enough to let go of the other. Zarkon stood by them in silent solidarity, sharing in their sorrow.

            Lance left the room after sharing a few more moment of comfort with Shiro, then left. He recognized that Shiro needed to be alone with his father. They needed time to mourn together without the presence of an outsider.

            So Lance stepped out and saw Keith standing out in the corridor, leaning against a wall, his gaze distant as he stared at nothing.

            “Have you been out here the whole time?” Lance asked, voice hoarse and raspy from his crying.

            “Yes.” Keith took a step forward, ready to embrace his lover, but Lance shook his head.

            “Not here,” he whispered. He didn’t trust himself not to break down right there in the hallway the moment the man he loved touched him.

            Keith nodded in understand, and together they walked to Keith’s room. Once the door was shut behind them Lance stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the half-Galra and shuddered as the tears started again.

            “Don’t ever leave me alone. Please, don’t ever leave,” he said brokenly. One of Keith’s hand’s snaked around Lance’s back to pull him close, while the other came up to the back of his head. He stroked the Altean’s hair while the boy pressed his face into the crook of Keith’s neck.

            “I’m not going to leave you. I’ve loved you probably since the very first day I met you and you called me beautiful. Nothing could make me give you up.”

            Lance pressed himself even closer and his shoulders shook with sobs. Keith continued to stroke his hair and never made a move to step away from the Altean’s embrace. He would stand there wrapped around him until the world came to an end if his lover needed. So he stayed there for over a varga until Lance no longer felt like his own personal world had ended.

 

\---

 

            The funeral for Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire was held on Daibazaal, far from the rift. Alien allies from across the galaxy entered Galra airspace – hundreds upon hundreds of representatives showed up to mourn. Even Honerva, sickly and weak as she was, was able to put aside her obsession with the rift. She stood expressionless beside Shiro and Zarkon, staring distantly at the casket that held her son.

            Lance floated through the whole ordeal in a daze. Without prompting from Blaytz or Keith he would just stand motionless. Existing but not being able to remember quite how to function normally. He barely spoke or ate, and his loved ones fretted at their inability to do anything to make it better.

            When they returned to Altea, Lance walked to his room without a word. Keith and Blaytz quietly went to the kitchen along with the other paladins and their children, minus Zarkon and Shiro who had stayed on Daibazaal. Sorrow still permeated the corridors of the castle. Lotor had been a friend to all of them. They didn’t feel the loss as deeply as Lance, but it still sent spikes of sadness through their hearts.

            Hunk and Gyrgan made food quietly and everyone else sat around the table. There were quiet smatterings of conversation but no one was really interested in trying to carry on talking.

            When the food was done, they ate in silence, and then Blaytz and Keith gathered some things onto a plate to take to Lance. Yet, when they arrived at the young Altean’s room, they found it completely empty.

            They both exchanged worried glances before setting off in separate directions to search for him. Blaytz began to panic after a varga of searching returned nothing. It was then that a rumbling purr crashed through his mind accompanied by the sound of waves, announcing the presence of the blue lion in his mind.

            He set off toward the lion hangar immediately. When he stepped inside he saw Lance laying on the sentient ship’s massive paw. The robot itself had lowered to the ground so her belly was flat against the floor and her head angled towards the paw where her little cub slept.

            Blaytz walked over quietly and put a hand against the surprisingly warm exterior of Blue’s head.

            “Thanks for comforting him,” Blaytz told the blue lion quietly. Another purr echoed through his mind. He didn’t fully understand Blue consciousness or how it worked, but he could somehow feel her affection for both him and his son. He didn’t understand it, but he was grateful that she could somehow calm Lance down enough to sleep peacefully.

            Blaytz sent a quick message to Keith so the frantic boy could stop worrying, then he leaned against Blue and joined her in watching the young Altean sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys noticed the 'Temporary Character Death' tag, this chapter is the reason for that tag. Just keep in mind the word 'temporary.' 
> 
> Sorry for doing this to you. I was almost in tears writing it so I totally played myself. Just remember that things will get better... eventually.


	27. I Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zarkon and Honerva take a huge risk
> 
> Daibazaal is in peril
> 
> The Paladins are forced to make a difficult decision
> 
> Everyone says goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a rollercoaster. Canon events coming into play now. 
> 
> Thank you for the millionth time for all your support. I love you all! I'm sorry for this heartbreak.

\---

 

_Daibazaal_

 

            On Nalquod the people believed the universe had to maintain a strict balance. There had to be both light, and dark, for life to thrive. That didn’t necessarily mean good and evil, because just as the daytime wasn’t always good, the night wasn’t always bad. To survive, they need both the light and the dark.

            Blaytz had never been as superstitious as his people, and this was a good trait for a king. Often times Nalquodi would let superstitions dictate their decisions, but if a king did such a thing it could spell disaster. Especially since different Nalquodi had different cultures and superstitions depending on where they came from.

            Still, deep down, he believed those words the matrons always ingrained into young children. The universe had to be in balance because even something inherently and overwhelmingly good could become corrupt without a counterpart.

            Maybe that explained why Blaytz had found Lance. That child had been through horrible things, but everything he had been through led up to being found by Blaytz, being adopted into a family that loved him so completely and without any reservations, judgments, or expectations – for him they felt truly unconditional love. The joy he both felt, and brought to others, was irreplaceable. Yet, without suffering what he had, the joy that followed would have never come to be. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have lived a happy life with his parents had those events not come to pass, it just meant that the overwhelming bad of his childhood was coming into balance thanks to the overwhelming good that followed.

            Blaytz wasn’t sure he believed that even if it’s something the matrons had mentioned. How could he believe that Lance had to have suffered before he got to be happy? He would rather have never known Lance if it meant the boy was spared the tragedies of his young life.

            Or maybe Blaytz spent too much time away from Nalquod. Whatever the reason, the words of the matrons haunted him as he and the other paladins encountered the strange, insidious creature that came through the rift on Daibazaal. It could be contained, but for how long was unknown. Also unknown was what it was, and if something worse would follow. Would Voltron be prepared for an interdimensional threat?

            “We must find a way to close the rift, Zarkon!” Alfor said, banging his fists on the table. The four paladins sat around a table on Daibazaal facing the utterly implacable fifth, Zarkon.

            The Galra emperor had changed after Lotor’s death. As stoic the image he presented, Zarkon had truly and overwhelmingly loved his son. It had been a topic of fond jokes among the paladins just how much time he spent talking about Lotor and Shiro. It was obvious he was immensely proud of both of his boys – with Honerva’s failing health the two were his world and his joy. Now one of his son’s was dead and Honerva was close to death.

            Thanks to the empress’s research on the rift, amazing advancements had been made with information and technology. They’d learned more about their universe thanks to the rift than they’d discovered in the past five hundred deca-phoeb’s. Now the price for that knowledge had come do and Zarkon was being faced with losing another thing he loved.

            “We will not,” Zarkon said.

            “Honerva’s exposure to it is what is affecting her health. If we close it then she may improve. If you won’t do it to protect the universe from interdimensional threats, do it for her.

            “You have no right to speak of Honerva!” Zarkon barked.

            “Honerva may be empress of Daibazaal, but before that she was my friend and she’s still one of my people. I am trying to save her life and your planet! After the creatures emerged the rift widened. It could swallow Daibazaal and take your people with it. Zarkon please, let us help you!”

            “I do not need your help. Voltron has no say over what happens on Daibazaal.”

            “The rift isn’t just a threat to Daibazaal! What happens if it swallows your planet, what happens if we can no longer contain the creatures that come through it? You are putting the lives of every single living thing in this dimension at risk.”

            “I will not sit here and listen to you insult my decisions, Alfor.”

            “Zarkon you know that’s not what we’re trying to do. Our goal is, as it’s always been, to protect the people of our universe. You are our friend, let us help you,” Trigel said softly.

            “So you all think I am acting a fool?”

            “We think you are mourning. I know it’s not the Galra way to show weakness, but the five of us have known each other for many years. We’ve fought together, we’ve seen each other at our lowest and highest points. We have experienced most of the important parts of our lives together,” Gyrgan said.

            “And what about you?” Zarkon snapped, looking towards Blaytz. The Nalquodi just looked at him blankly, the words of the matrons swirling around in his head. There always had to be balance. Did Honerva have to be the sacrifice to bring about that balance?

            “Will you listen to anything I say?” he responded after a moment. The two shared a moment, maybe it was understanding. Blaytz wasn’t sure that if it wasn’t Lance in Honerva’s place that he wouldn’t be acting the same way. He agreed that the rift needed to close, but if it were Lance’s life at risk and the rift could save him then he didn’t know if he could give up that possibility, no matter how remote.

            “All of you leave, now. Get off my planet.”

            “Zarkon, you must listen to us!” Alfor shouted.

            “Leave!” Zarkon demanded. Alfor opened his mouth to continue arguing, but Gyrgan put a hand on his shoulder to silence the king.

            Zarkon stormed out of the room. Outside stood Allura and Shiro, standing close to each other anxiously.

            “Shiro, with me!” the emperor snapped as he strode past. Shiro flashed a bewildered gaze between the retreating back of his father, and the dejected paladins who walked up to the pair.

            “Father,” Allura said, sounding distressed.

            “I’m sorry Allura, we need to leave.”

            “But, what about Shiro?” Alfor looked at the boy and sighed.

            “I hope this will be temporary. Shiro, your father is upset but we will mend things, even if only for you and Allura.” Shiro just nodded at the king.

            “Shiro,” Allura said softly. The human man turned to Allura and gave her a soft smile. He stepped forward and gently cupped her face and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

            “It’s alright. We’ll see each other soon. Everything will be alright.”

            Allura straightened her spine and nodded. “I will see you soon,” she said fiercely. Shiro’s smile got a little wider. He gave her one last kiss, nodded to the paladins, then followed in the direction his father had gone.

 

\---

 

_Altea_

            “Lance, what are you doing out here?” Keith asked. He had nearly panicked when he woke up in the middle of the night and Lance was no longer lying beside him. It had been almost fifteen quintants since the disaster that took Lotor’s life, and the Altean was struggling to overcome having to watch his brother practically die in his arms. He was at least eating and talking to them now, but the grief had hit him hard. He had already still been emotionally unstable, and he wasn’t able to process this latest tragedy well.

            It had taken a varga of searching before he finally found Lance standing outside in the juniberry fields, face turned up towards the sea of stars.

            “The air feels weird,” Lance said.

            “What do you mean?”

            “I don’t know, it’s like something is bubbling up. Like when you’re upset and inside you feel like something is going to burst out but you don’t know whether it’ll be a scream or tears.”

            “The air feels like that?”

            “Yeah, like something is about to happen.”

            Keith didn’t like that. He didn’t like how distant Lance looked. He didn’t like how he almost knew what the Altean was talking about. Something just felt… wrong.

            “I’m sure everything will be fine,” Keith said softly instead.

            “There always has to be a balance,” Lance all but whispered. A chill raced up Keith’s spine.

            “What do you mean?” Keith asked for the second time. He felt like a corrupted voice recording repeating himself like that.

            “The universe always has to be in balance. Light and dark. Right now there’s no balance.”

            “And what happens when there’s no balance?” Keith couldn’t help but ask.

            “The universal fates bring things back into balance.”

            “How?”

            “It depends on how severe the imbalance is. The worse it is, the more violent the balancing will be.”

            Keith’s breath suddenly felt labored. Lance was just talking, it was superstition. Nalquodi were known were being a highly superstitious people, the complete opposite of Alteans. It was just talk but… for some reason Lance’s words made him terrified.

            He realized with a start that Lance was shivering, violently, despite the warm night air. Keith immediately stepped in front of the Altean and cupped his face, forcing those blue eyes away from the stars so they could look into Keith’s own.

            “Hey, hey. Lance it’s okay. We’re going to be okay,” he soothed. Lance shook his head as much as he could while his face was still held by Keith.

            “Something bad’s going to happen.” Tears welled in his eyes. Keith kissed him quickly, then pulled back so he could envelop the other boy in his arms. Lance’s arms went around his waist and he buried his face into Keith’s neck. Keith held him tightly and tried desperately to think of what he could do to calm down his lover.

            A sound above them had both boys looking towards the sky. Four lions entered atmo and descended towards the castle. Lance’s breathing increased.

            “Something’s going to happen,” he gasped.

            “It’s okay baby, come on, breath with me okay. That’s just the paladins. They are here and safe, your father is safe.”

            “I need to see Makua,” Lance said, but he was making an effort to match his breathing to Keith’s more even breaths. Keith nodded.

            “Okay, okay. Let’s go see him.”

           

            Keith coaxed his distressed love inside, murmuring words of comfort as they quickly made their way to the lion hangar. He only hoped Blaytz would have better luck calming down his son, but they both knew it was going to take more time for Lance to stabilize again.

            They entered the hangar just as the paladins were stepping out of their lions. Blaytz took one look at Lance and was immediately at his side.

            “There’s not balance Makua. There’s no balance,” he said. Blaytz ran a hand over his hair and shushed him.

            “I know, it’s okay. We’ll be okay.”

            While Blaytz comforted the Altean, Keith walked up to his sister, father, and the other two paladins.

            “What happened?” he asked quietly. Alfor and Allura tore their sad gazes away from where Blaytz and Lance stood to look at Keith.

            “It’s not good. Zarkon refuses to close the rift,” Alfor said.

            “But what about the creatures?” he asked, keeping his voice quiet despite the alarm. None of them needed to panic Lance any further.

            “He still refuses.”

            “What happened with Lance?” Allura asked. Keith sighed.

            “He says the air feels weird, like something is about to happen. He keeps saying that the universe isn’t in balance.”

            “What does that mean?” Allura sounded confused and looked to her father.

             “It’s a belief the Nalquodi people have,” Trigel chimed in. “The matrons teach their children that the universe has to maintain a strict balance of light and dark in order for life to thrive. They believe that if the universe leans to sharply towards one or the other, the universal fates will correct it.”

              “Like good and evil?”

“Not exactly, but in a vague sense, yes, but it’s just superstition."

“Lance doesn’t seem to think so,” Keith replied.

Alfor sighed. “Lance is still distressed. It will take time for him to recover – just give him that time and continue to support him. That’s all we can do right now.”

“But what about the rift? What about the creatures?”

“Let us worry about that, both of you,” Alfor said, addressing Allura as well.

“But father…”

“I mean it, now we all need to retire. It’s the middle of the night.”

 

            With that, the conversation was over. Lance had calmed down enough that when Blaytz left them at their room, the Altean was able to fall right back to sleep, the exhaustion and stress winning out and pulling him under. Keith stayed awake for awhile longer, clinging tightly to the boy in his arms, breathing in his sent and listening to his breathing.

            He couldn’t get Lance’s words out of his head. If something was coming… would he lose Lance? He’d already come so close. When the distress beacon came through from Lotor’s cruiser he’d never felt panic like that, it was worse even than when Lance had flown off with Hunk and Pidge three deca-phoeb’s ago.

            He’d been in the control room with Coran, Pidge, Matt, Hunk, and Allura who had been the one to open the wormhole to get the paladins there. He’d seen the video feeds, saw the pirate fleets and destroyed hull of the Galra cruiser. None of them had known if anyone was still alive on that ship, it was almost completely without power and the shields had failed moments after Voltron had gotten there. No communications came from it, and all communications sent towards it went unanswered.

            Then the news came. Lotor was dead. Lance was alive but in severe shock. Keith had collapsed to the floor then, hardly hearing Coran as the king’s advisor knelt beside him and patted his back, reassuring him that Lance was alive and that all would be well.

            Keith shivered and pulled Lance tighter against him, unable to stop himself even as the movement made the Altean stir. Keith had to ground himself, he had to remind himself that Lance was there and safe in his arms.

            “Keith?” Lance murmured. The half-Galra kissed the back of his head and then buried his face into Lance’s soft hair.

            “Sorry, go back to sleep,” he whispered.

            “Are you okay?”

            “I’m okay.”

            “I love you,” Lance said. Keith felt his breath hitch and his eyes burned as tears threatened to spill.

            “I love you too.” Keith didn’t relax his grip around Lance, and the other boy didn’t ask. He just settled and fell back to sleep while Keith clung to him.

 

\---

 

_Daibazaal_

            Zarkon stepped into the room where Honerva lay in bed. She hardly had the strength to leave the room anymore. Her hair had turned a ghostly white and her once vibrant eyes were dull. She looked a woman three times her age.

            “Are you ready?” he asked softly, petting a hand over her brittle hair.

            “I am,” she said firmly. Zarkon nodded but… he couldn’t help hesitating for a moment. The words of his allies echoed through his thoughts. Could this make everything worse? Was he sacrificing his entire planet for Honerva.

            Honerva must have seen something on his face, because she sat up and gripped his arm with what little strength she had remaining.

            “This will work. We can save Lotor and myself. We can have our family be whole again. You and Shiro deserve to have your family, and Daibazaal deserves to have its royal family restored.”

            Zarkon’s hesitation snapped apart then. Honerva was right, they weren’t just doing this for Honerva. They were doing it for Lotor, for Shiro, and the Galra people.

            “Right,” Zarkon said. He gently scooped Honerva up from the bed and the Altean graced him with one of her rare smiles.

            “We’ll all be together again,” she said. Zarkon smiled back and kissed her on the head.

            “We will,” he affirmed. They walked to the rift and stopped at the edge. Lotor’s body, wrapped in Galra funeral dressing, was already laid out beside it. Zarkon had put him in cryostasis the moment they’d gotten to Daibazaal, unable to bear completing the full Galra funeral customs.

            “We’ll be alright,” Honerva whispered as they stared into the glowing gold of the rift that transcended dimensions.

            “Once this is over we close it,” Zarkon replied. Something flashed over Honerva’s face, something primal and greedy, before the expression softened and she smiled.

            “We will, I promise.”

           

            Zarkon set her on her feet, steadying her for a moment, before bending to pick up the body of his son. With one last look at his wife, they stepped together into the rift.

 

 

  
            Daibazaal shook. A flash of light burst from the rift. A crack rent the air.

 

 

 

            Galra soldiers discovered the bodies of Emperor Zarkon, Empress Honerva, and Prince Lotor beside the rift.

 

 

 

 

            The bodies were moved with haste. The Galra people were in a disarray. The rift was growing. Shiro was left as the leader of a people he didn’t yet have enough experience to lead. A rift was consuming his planet. His father, mother, and brother were dead. He’d lost his family for the second time.

 

 

 

            The rift continued to grow. Creatures tried to push through. The paladins stepped in and together with Shiro and the Galra High Council ordered a mandatory evacuation of the planet. Every cruiser in the fleet was launched. Daibazaal was abandoned.

 

 

 

            From a spot far above the decaying planet, Shiro watched the destruction of Daibazaal. The explosion and the force of the exploding core caused the rift to collapse in on itself and close. The universe was safe. The planet was gone. The bodies of his family were laid in another room under funeral shrouds. The Galra people looked to him, a human leader who wasn’t much out of boyhood.

 

\---

 

_The Emperor’s Cruiser – The Funeral Chamber_

            Confusion. Power. Life. Pain. Memories? Did they exist? Anger. Hatred. Power. More Power. More Power. More Power.

 

 

 

 

\---

 

_Altea_

            “That one kind of looks like you,” Lance said, tracing a constellation in the sky with his finger. Blaytz laughed.

            “Does it?”

            “Kinda. Those are your ears, those stars could be your antennae. Those two kinda look like a mouth.”

            “I think you’re stretching a bit keiki.”

            Lance just nodded. He and Blaytz were laying out in the fields staring up at the stars. It was the first break they’d gotten in two weeks. After the destruction of Daibazaal, Altea, the Dalterion Belt, Rygnirath, and even Nalquod had been flooded with Galra refugees. Until a new suitable home planet could be found, the council had decided to try and settle their people across allied planets.

            There hadn’t even been much time to mourn. After the disaster that took the royal family’s life, the rift had begun growing exponentially and at an alarming rate. The Galra High Council and Shiro had no choice except to scramble to save their people.

            It had all happened so fast. Now the universe was once again in turmoil. With the Black lion pilotless, pirates and slavers became emboldened. They tried to reclaim lost territory and reestablish the slave trade.

            Of course, even without being able to form Voltron the pirate were still no match for the four other lions. That didn’t keep them from trying.

            “Is there a balance now?” Lance murmured after the silence had stretched on for a few dobash.

            “I don’t know. I hope.”

           

            Lance suddenly sat up and pointed. A light was streaking through the sky.

            “Is that a shooting star?” he asked, though the answer was already evident.

            Blaytz surged to his feet. “That’s a ship!” he said. There was a faint crack as it entered atmo, then they saw the smoke trail as it plummeted towards the ground.

            “That’s a Galra pod,” Lance said.

            “There are no cruisers in our orbit right now,” Blaytz said.

            They watched horrified as it plummeted to the earth somewhere in the mountains. “We need to get to the lions!”

 

            The pair of them went running towards the castle. They stopped briefly to gather the other paladins, who had been in the common room with their kids, and then they were all rushing towards the lion hanger.

            They all piled into Yellow and Blue, and Blaytz led the other lion in the direction he’d seen the pod crash.

             When they spotted it in a canyon they set down, relieved to see it still mostly in tact. Alfor led the way as they ran over and pried open the door.

            “Shiro!” Allura cried. Alfor pulled Shiro from the wreckage. The boy was beat to hell, bleeding from a wound at his side that was the result of being hit by blaster fire, not from the crash.

           “We need to get him into a pod now,” Alfor said.

          “What has happened, why has he been shot?” Allura said. Tears were in her eyes.

          “I don’t know,” the king replied. He moved to pull Shiro into his arms when the man jerked awake, his eyes wild and his breath coming fast.

          “He’s coming. He’s coming!” Shiro said. “He’s going to kill us all.”

           “Who? Shiro who is coming?” Alfor asked, but Shiro had already passed out again.

 

         They wasted no more time getting him into one of the lions. Coran met them in the medical bay – a healing pod was already prepped and they put Shiro into it after Coran cut away his bloody clothes and checked for any additional wounds.

         Once he was garbed in the white jumpsuit and in the pod, the shell shocked group stood around him and stared.

        “I can’t get in contact with anyone on the Galra High Council,” Alfor said somberly.

        “I don’t understand. Why would they attack Shiro? Is it some sort of bid for power?” Allura asked with her fists clenched at her sides.

       “That’s unlikely. Galra culture is rooted in subservience. You don’t go against the leadership, ever. That’s ingrained in them from the time they are children.”

       “Then what happened?!?” Allura demanded.

       “Allura,” Keith said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Allura immediately turned to him and threw her arms around her brother. Keith hugged her tightly.

        “We’ll keep trying to contact the Galra. Otherwise we need to wait until Shiro wakes up to get answers.”

        “He should only need a varga or two until he’s good as new! The blaster shot only grazed him,” Coran said with forced cheer.

 

       All attempts to contact the Galra were unsuccessful, so they all waited in tense silence for the pod to open.

       When it did, Alfor was there to catch Shiro when he stumbled out. For a moment the human was confused as if he didn’t quite understand where he was. Then his breath hitched and he gripped Alfor’s arms.

      “King Alfor we need to evacuate Altea, now!” Shiro said.

       “Shiro calm down, you need to explain to us what’s happened.”

       “Zarkon is alive! The rift did something to him. He killed the entire High Council and tried to kill me when I tried to intervene. He’s not the same anymore, he’s cruel. He’s going to come after Altea next!”

       “King Alfor!” Coran said, eyes fixed to his comm tablet. “We need to get to the command deck, a transmission is being broadcast across the system from the Emperor’s Cruiser.

 

 

       They all ran. Coran brought up the transmission in the command deck. They watched Zarkon, eyes filled with a sickly glowing gold light, condemn Altea and it’s people. They watched him declare war on the paladins of Voltron for the destruction of the planet. Then the warning klaxons sounded in the castle as Galra ships entered orbit and began firing.

 

\---

 

            “Makua what’s going on?” Lance asked again. Distant quakes shook the ground as more bombs hit the planet’s surface. Most of Altea’s fleet had been destroyed. Not even their forced combined with the Dalterion Belt and Rygnirath’s were enough to hold back the entirety of the Galra fleets. The four remaining lions were the only reason that the allied forces hadn’t already lost, but without the Black lion it was still a losing battle. Zarkon knew how they operated, he knew all their strategies. He countered them at every turn, and so far there had been no success in finding a new pilot for the Black lion. She’d refused to even drop her particle barrier.

            Blaytz didn’t answer. He kept running, flanked by the other three paladins and followed by the other children. They’d arrived on Altea a few dobash before and with no explanation told their children to follow.

            They arrived in the healing bay and stopped. Coran was there frantically calibrating the pods.

            “I’ve set them all to cryostasis. Everything’s ready,” the advisor said. Lance immediately back away and looked at Blaytz.

            “What does he mean, what’s going on?” Lance asked.

            “Father?” Allura questioned.

            “We need to get you all off of Altea and we need to take the castle far away. For now we need you all to go into the cryo pods. It’s for your own safety as we don’t know how long the journey will be.”

            “We’re all going into them?” Hunk asked. The burly boy’s eyes were wide and his breath was a little too fast.

            “Only you all, not us. We need to provide cover to get the castle out.”

            “No!” Lance said. He ran up to Blaytz and fisted a hand in his vest. “I’m not going in there without you. I can’t lose you too. Makua please, no.”

            “You aren’t going to lose me. This is just temporary.”

            “You’re lying.” Lance was crying now. “I always know when you’re lying because you’re so bad at it. Please don’t make me go in there. Please don’t. I need you. I don’t want to lose more people.”

            “Lance,” Blaytz knelt down so he could look directly into his son’s eyes. “I promise you I am going to do everything I can to come back to you, but I need you to be safe first. I won’t be able to concentrate on kicking ass if I’m worried about you.” The Nalquodi used the pads of his thumbs to wipe tear tracks from Lance’s face, but more just continued to fall.

            “I don’t want you to die. Dad, please, I don’t want you to die. You've always been there, you've helped me through everything. I don't know what I'll do without you.”

            Blaytz pulled Lance into a tight hug. “When this is all over we’ll go back to Nalquod. We’ll play on the beach and we’ll swim all day. The matrons will braid your hair we’ll listen to all their stories together.” he whispered.

            “You’re lying,” Lance cried. “You’re lying.”

            “And if nothing else, remember the stars you said look like me? So if you need me, you can always find me in the stars. Just talk to me and I know I’ll hear you. I’ll always hear you and I’m always going to be with you. I love you Lance. I love you so much, but I need to go now.”

            “Don’t go. Please. I’m not strong enough.”

            “You are. You are the strongest person I’ve ever met and I’m so proud of you.”

            “I love you,” Lance choked out. Blaytz carded a hand through Lance’s hair and smiled the best he could. He spent a moment just staring into his son’s face, memorizing every detail, then he stood back up.

            “I love you to.”

            The pod behind Lance opened. The Altean sent a panicked gaze towards Keith – the half-galra immediately stepped forward and kissed Lance fiercely.

            “I’m going in right after you. I’ll be here when we all wake up.”

            “Promise?”

            “I promise. I love you.”

            “I love you too.”

            Together Keith and Blaytz managed to coax the sobbing boy into the pod. The door closed and Lance’s face went lax, the tears freezing on his cheeks. Keith pressed a hand to his mouth to muffle a sob but couldn’t stop the tears that escaped to run down his face.

            “Look after him for me,” Blaytz said to Keith. “He’ll need you more than ever after this. If I can’t be there for him please just… promise me you’ll help him no matter what.”

            “I will,” Keith croaked. He turned back to Alfor who was watching the interaction somberly. Allura stood silently in shock as her father stepped up to her and Keith and placed a hand on both their shoulders.

            “I’ve never known more joy than when you two entered my life. I will find a way back to you no matter what happens.”

            “Father, is there no other way?” Allura asked. “What will I do without your love and guidance?”

            “Love cannot be destroyed. My love will always remain with you both, and now you need to go into the pods.”

            Allura turned to Shiro and the two embraced. They shared a tender kiss, and then Shiro pulled away so he could wrap Keith in a hug.

            “I’ll see you guys soon,” Shiro said. Keith and Allura walked together towards the pods and stepped inside. The doors closed and their tears also froze.

            “Shiro, I’m sorry for everything that has happened to you. I hope the universe will be a better place when you all wake up,” Alfor said.

            “If it’s not then we will fight alongside you to make it so when we wake up.” With that the human stepped into the pod beside Allura’s.

            “Pidge, Matt. I will make you proud,” Trigel said to the siblings.

            “You’re already the most amazing person we’ve ever met,” Pidge said. Trigel smiled at her.

            “And you are the most precious things in my life. Be strong now and everything will be okay. I love you.”

            “I love you,” Matt and Pidge echoed. They stepped into the pods. Hunk and Gyrgan said nothing. They embraced in a bone-crushing hug for a couple dobash, before finally a whispered, “I love you,” passed between them. Then Hunk was stepping into his pod.

 

            The room was silent. Each parent stared at their children and wondered if this was the last time they would ever see their faces.

            “Coran, it’s your turn,” Alfor said finally, turning his face away from his son and daughter to look at the orange haired advisor.

            “But my king! You need me to help pilot the castle!”

            “We need you to be there for the children when they wake up. None of us know what the outcome of this war will be, but the paladins of Voltron are losing. Our hope is that the kids will wake up to a universe at peace, but it may cost our lives to achieve that. They will need your guidance, and we all need to be assured that there will be someone to look out for them if we cannot return. They will need you.”

            “I understand,” Coran said. His voice was devoid of its usual cheer. He silently calibrated another pod, and when it was ready he turned and bowed deeply to the four paladins, his friends.

            “It’s been an honor to know you all,” he said. He stepped into a pod. The door sealed shut, and the paladins quietly left to meet their fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, that was a lot.


	28. I'm Glad to See You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance wakes up before the others.
> 
> Everyone has to come to terms with their new reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry guys, this chapter is super short. It's been hectic. Also, please read the end note, it's important.
> 
> Things in the story are also really going to start picking up which means I'll have to spend more time sitting down and fleshing things out. So I decided to put out this short, emotional little chapter and let you know it might be a week or two before the next full-length chapter. 
> 
> Also, sorry again if my replies to your comments on the last chapter were super short and took forever to come! I had fifty something comments to respond to between this fic and my other ongoing fic so it took me a while to get through them all. But thank you so so much! I can't believe that this fic is nearly 18,000 hits and has gotten over a thousand kudos. Your support means the world to me. I can honestly say I wasn't expecting such a positive reception and you all have broken me out of like, a three year writing block. I mean it when I say you all mean a lot to me.

            The hissing that accompanied the opening of the cryo pod seemed so loud, and so foreign to Lance’s ears. It was somewhat familiar, and his groggy mind was expecting arms to catch him as the stasis wore off, but instead he landed on the ground with spikes of pain going up both knees from the impact.

            That didn’t seem right. Why was he waking up alone? Why was the castle so cold? Everything around him was just a blurred mess.

            Lance scrubbed at his eyes. Then he scrubbed them again. He scrubbed them until they watered and things finally came into a bleary focus.

            The medical bay was quiet and completely devoid of life. For a dobash Lance didn’t understand why until the cryo-sleep fog slipped away and memories of going into the pod returned.

            “Makua!” Lance surged to his feet and looked around. There was no sound. Nothing. No tremors in the earth from dropping bombs. No quietly panicking voices nearby. Nothing. His heart rate picked up.

            “Makua!” he shouted again. Nothing.

            Lance turned to the other pods and saw his friends inside, still asleep. He went to Keith’s pod and tapped the display, but for the life of him he didn’t know how to bring someone out of a cryo-sleep. He’d never learned to operate the pods – that was left to experienced medical staff and Coran.

            Why was he the only one awake? Why was he alone?

            Someone had to have woken him up, so didn’t that mean someone had to be in the castle? Where were they?

            “Keith, wake up please.” Lance pressed his palm to the cool exterior of Keith’s pod.

            “Please. I don’t want to be alone. Wake up. Please wake up. Please.” Lance banged his fist against the door, but his lover remained motionless within.

            “Don’t leave me alone,” he whispered.

            Lance couldn’t handle being there in the quiet by himself. He had to find someone – with that goal in mind he went to the door and rushed out into the hallway. He was trying hard to keep his breathing normal, but no matter what he did, no matter how even his breaths, his heart rate just kept accelerating and he felt like he couldn’t get enough air.

            “Makua!” Lance called while running through the hallways. He made it down to the lion hangars and found it empty of all lions except Black. She sat there silently, particle barrier up, as she had since Zarkon’s death, and rebirth.

            “Black, please. Where are the paladins? Where is my Makua? Please answer me!” Lance pounded his fist against the barrier. The lion was silent. It wasn’t surprising since he’d only ever felt a connection with Blue and little touches from Red, but he couldn’t help but hope that the Black lion would communicate with him the same way Blue had.

            She didn’t. She remained indifferent to his presence.

            Lance left the hangar and made his way to the castle’s front entrance. Someone had to be around, he just needed to find them. He needed to find anyone before his panic overwhelmed him. Already black spots were dotting his vision and his fingers began to tingle. He knew he was about to hyperventilate and pass out. He knew he needed to slow down his breathing he just… couldn’t. He couldn’t calm down.

            The doors of the castle loomed and he all but sprinted towards them and through to the other side when they opened. Daylight spilled across his face and blinded him momentarily. When his eyes adjusted he looked out…

            The planet was completely unfamiliar. The flora, landscape, sky, everything was vastly different than Altea, Nalquod, Rygnirath, or any of the three planets in the Dalterion Belt. He had no idea where the castle was, and just like inside there was no one around.

            Lance dropped to his knees, breaths coming in big, desperate gasps. He was alone on an unfamiliar planet. His father was gone, his friends were asleep. He was alone. He was alone. He was alone.

 

\---

 

            Keith’s knees hit the ground and he let out a groan of pain. It was echoed around him as the others fell gracelessly out of their pods.

            A strong hand gripped his arm pulled him up, and after scrubbing at his eyes Shiro came into focus.

            “Shiro,” Keith breathed. The older man wrapped him in a hug. “We’re alive,” Keith continued somewhat incredulously.

            “We are,” Shiro affirmed. He pulled away and Allura took his place a moment later. Her hug was crushing and Keith tucked his face into her hair, grounding himself that they were all alive and safe.

            “How long have we been asleep?”

            “I don’t know yet, we all seem to have woken at the same time,” Allura said without breaking the hug.

            “Guys where’s Lance?” Hunk said. Keith jerked away and looked towards Lance’s pod. It was open, and empty. The Altean was nowhere to be found.

            “Did he wake up before us? Where is he?” Keith’s voice was edged in panic.

            Coran swept past him, and Keith couldn’t even take the time to wonder why Coran was there with them. He hadn’t known the advisor was also going into a pod, but Lance was the only thing on his mind.

            “According to his pod young Lance woke up a full varga before the rest of us for some reason.”

            “Then where is he? Why isn’t he here?” Keith demanded.

            “Keith, he has to be here somewhere. We’ll all go find him,” Shiro said.

            “You don’t understand, I promised Blaytz I’d be here for him, but Lance woke up all by himself. He was all alone. He’s going to panic Shiro – he cannot be alone right now, not after everything, not when he doesn’t know if his father is alive,” Keith said.

            “Go search for him. I’m going to go to the command deck and figure out what planet we’re on and how long we’ve been asleep,” Coran said.

            “Coran…” Allura started.

            “I know, princess. Go. I’ll have information for you once you find Lance.”

 

            They checked Lance’s old room, though it stood empty just like all the other rooms in the castle. They didn’t know where all their things had gone, and they didn’t take the time to ponder it then.

            Next they tried Keith’s room, then the lion hangar, then they went outside. They paused momentarily to take in the unfamiliar landscape before them, but quickly went back inside after confirming Lance wasn’t out there.

            “We’ve looked everywhere. Could something have happened to him?” Hunk asked.

            “He only woke up an hour before us, what could have happened?” Pidge said with a shrug.

            “Keith, can you think of what Lance might have done when he woke up?” Shiro looked at Keith who was wringing his hand with worry.

            “If we were still asleep he probably would have gone looking for…” Keith trailed off. “I know where he is!”

            Without filling anyone else in, the half-Galra took off running through the hallways, all the way to the larger rooms of the castle where visiting monarchs stayed.

            He slammed his hand down on the keypad outside Blaytz’s old room and stepped inside, chest heaving and eyes frantically sweeping the room.

            In the dim light he saw Lance huddled in the corner, rocking slightly, with quiet little sobs breaking the silence.

            Keith dropped to the ground beside him and wrapped his arms around the trembling Altean.

            “Lance it’s okay, I’m here. It’s okay,” he said. Lance didn’t say anything, he just lunged slightly so he could wrap his arms around Keith’s neck.

            “You all left me alone,” he cried. Keith sucked in a sharp breath and bit the inside of his cheek to try and maintain his composure.

            “I know, but we’re here now. We’re all awake now. We’re all alive.”

            “I don’t want to lose all of you too. I’m so scared,” Lance sobbed. Keith couldn’t hold back his own tears anymore. He held Lance tighter and ran his hands through his hair over and over again.

            “You’re not going to lose us. I’m here now, and I’m not going to leave you again. Look at me.” Even though all Keith wanted was to hold onto Lance and never let go, he pulled back and cupped the Altean’s face, tilting it up so they could look each other in the eyes.

            “Keith,” Lance said, and then he gave a tiny, watery smile. Keith gave his own watery smile and nodded.

            “Yeah, it’s me. I’m here with you.”

            Lance brought a hand up and ran it through Keith’s long hair, then brushed across his cheekbones, continuing down as if he was trying to assure himself that Keith was truly there and not just a figment of his imagination.

            “I’m really glad to see you,” Lance said finally. Keith made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, then swiped at the tears running down his face before wiping away Lance’s as well. He leaned forward and kissed the other boy, giving himself a few more dobash to just reassure himself that Lance was there and safe with him, before pulling away.

            “I’m glad to see you too. We should go back to the others, they’re worried about you. Are you okay to stand?”

            Lance nodded and allowed Keith to pull him to his feet. They walked hand in hand out of the room, somberly taking in the silence of the castle.

            “How long were we asleep?” Lance asked quietly.

            “We don’t know. Coran is on the command deck figuring it out.”

            “Coran? He’s here?”

            “He went into a cryo-pod as well. We didn’t have time to ask him about it after we figured out you were missing.”

            Lance ducked his head. Now that the panic was subsiding he felt embarrassed at his breakdown.

            “I should have just stayed there and waited. I was being stupid”

            “No,” Keith said, squeezing Lance’s hand tighter. “You woke up by yourself, and you had no way of knowing if or when the rest of us would wake up. I would have panicked in that situation to.”

            Lance took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly exhaling. He was still shaking a little, but every tick that passed with Keith beside him helped his heart rate calm down and the shivering lessen.

           

            When they reached the command deck Keith and Lance stopped – something was wrong. Allura was sitting to the side, eyes blank and staring into nothing. Shiro had his arm around her and was rubbing her bicep in comfort, but even he looked paler than usual.

            Pidge, Matt, and Hunk looked about the same as the other two. Hunk and Matt’s eyes were red rimmed, while Pidge’s face held no emotion at all.

            Coran was leaning against a terminal, watching them all with a somber expression etched on his face.

            “What’s going on?” Keith asked immediately. Everyone looked at them, and when Allura saw Lance she stood up and wrung her hands together.

            “I’m not sure if we should talk about this now,” she said, her eyes flicking to Lance. Keith caught the subtext of her words – Allura didn’t think Lance should hear whatever it was that had put everyone into shock. Unfortunately the younger Altean also caught on.

            “Just tell us, I can deal with it,” he said. Allura looked to Coran, who nodded and stepped forward just a little.

            “I’ve figured out how long we were in the cryo-sleep.”

            “How long,” Keith asked, dread pooling in his stomach.

            “According to castle systems, it’s been about 10,000 deca-phoeb’s.”

           

            Keith just stood there while his mind tried to process that information, but ten thousand years was just too incomprehensible. So many questions flooded through him. How? Why? What happened? Question after question popped up, but he couldn’t find the words to vocalize them.

To his surprise, it was actually Lance who spoke first.

            “And the war?” he asked in a near whisper.

            “From what I’ve been able to gather, the Galra Empire controls a majority of the known universe, still led by Emperor Zarkon. They’ve subjugated or enslaved most inhabited planets.”

            “Zarkon? How? It’s not possible for him to be alive after 10,000 deca-phoeb’s!” Keith burst out.

            “Well he died and came back to life didn’t he?” Pidge snapped.

            “Pidge, don’t take it out on him,” Shiro admonished quietly.

            “I agree that it seems impossible for him to have lived so long, but all of the available information says just that.”

            “I don’t understand, why did we sleep for so long though?”

            “King Alfor set up protocols after we had all been put to sleep. The pods were set to open once the war with the Galra was over.”

            “The paladins never intended to let us help them in the war,” Allura said in realization.

            “So it seems,” Coran replied. “But it seems the war was lost, so we were kept asleep indefinitely.”

            “So why did we wake up now? Why after all this time?” Matt asked.

            “The castle did it for our safety. After 10,000 deca-phoeb’s various systems have degraded and it seems we could no longer be safely kept in cryo-stasis because of it.”

            “This is insane,” Pidge said.

            “What about Nalqod? And Altea? The Dalterion Belt? Rygnirath? What happened to them?” Lance asked.

            “I haven’t gotten that far yet. Give me a moment,” Coran said. He turned back to the terminal. Allura went back to sit in the circle of Shiro’s arms while Lance stepped closer to Keith. The half-Galra wrapped an arm around him, concerned that he was shaking again, but so far the Altean's breath stayed even.

            “Both the Dalterion Belt and Rygnirath are under Galra control – it seems that the people have been forced into servitude of the Empire. Nalqod is…” Coran paused and his mustache twitched. “Nalquod is blockaded so nothing goes in and nothing leaves, but the planet itself is said to be uninhabited.”

            Lance’s breath hitched “Uninhabited? How?”

            “There are no longer any landmasses on the planet. It seems as if the ocean rose and overtook everything.”

            Lance let out a relieved breath and everyone looked at him in confusion. He gave them a small, tight smile. “It’s a defense mechanism. In the event of an evasion the Matrons of the Deep can call the oceans to rise. Nalquodi can live on land or in water, so the people just disappear beneath the waves and the Matrons of the Deep swallow anything foreign that tries to enter the water.”

            “I know the stories of the Matrons of the Deep, but I didn’t realize they held that kind of power,” Coran said.

            “And Altea?” Keith asked quietly. Coran cleared his throat and nodded before turning back to the terminal.

            “This can’t be right,” the advisor said. Allura stood up again – this time Shiro stood with her, hovering close.

            “All the scans are showing that Altea isn’t there.”

            “What do you mean it's not there?” Allura asked. 

            “The coordinates of Altea are empty, there’s just an asteroid field in that…” Coran stopped and stumbled back from the terminal. He pressed a hand to his mouth and looked at the princess. For a moment she seemed confused, and then all at once it hit her.

            “No. That’s not possible. It can’t be possible. Coran, look again!” she demanded. Keith looked at Lance, eyes wide and shocked. Lance stepped away and pushed him gently towards the princess.

            Keith shuffled over and pulled his sister into a hug. She latched onto him tightly, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

            “It can’t be true,” she said. Keith wanted to comfort her, but he was in shock. He knew he was in shock. He’d seen Lance go into shock enough times to know the symptoms in himself, but knowing didn’t make it go away.

            “They destroyed it. They destroyed Altea,” Allura said. Lance stepped up next to Shiro. They exchanged a look, both their faces filled with despair and a desire to help their loved ones hurt less, but there was nothing they could do. The Galra had destroyed Altea and right then Keith and Allura just needed to be with each other.

           

            Soon they would all need to acknowledge the war. They would need to get themselves together, get the castle ship up and running, find the lions, and take up the war their parents had lost 10,000 deca-phoeb’s ago. They just took a short time to allow themselves to mourn first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So next chapter will have the kids off to find the lions.
> 
> But fair warning, I'm going to deviate from the show a lot. I'm not really interested in retelling the whole Voltron show story so be prepared for a lot of differences.
> 
> And if you guys are sad about the OG paladins, I'll just say they'll still very much be a part of things, maybe just not how you expect.


	29. Matrons of the Deep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I don't know how so much time passed since my last chapter. I moved, started a new job, found out my new job lied to me about a lot of stuff. And on my last chapter someone left a comment that really discouraged me.
> 
> It's been a tough few months.
> 
> But I deleted that comment, and I'm back now, so I hope to get back to regularly updating!! This part of the story is just very difficult since everything is basically starting over. All the previous plot lines are done, and now I need to basically reestablish the story, especially since I'm not planning to just follow a linear path along show events. 
> 
> As I mentioned before, this fic is going to go it's own way. Show events will come into things, but I'm not just going to rewrite it episode by episode. It's going to be pretty independent from the show, and things will probably progress much faster than show events. 
> 
> And that's about it! I'll try not to disappear for multiple months again! For the people who left wonderful and kind comments on the last chapter, I'm so sorry for not responding. I'll get back to responding to all my comments with this chapter!

            “Lance are you sure about this?” Shiro asked for probably the twentieth time. Lance stepped out of the little pod after finishing his flight prep. He gave Shiro a firm nod.

            “The blue lion is on Nalquod, I know it.”

            “It’s been ten thousand years, wouldn’t that have been the first place Zarkon looked?” Hunk asked.

            “Nothing hostile can enter the oceans of Nalquod – the Matrons of the Deep have absolute control over the water. Even if Zarkon knows the blue lion is there, he has no way to get to it.”

            “So why not just destroy the planet like he did to Altea?”

            “If he destroyed Nalquod, he would destroy the blue lion,” Allura responded evenly, but she was just as nervous as the rest of them about sending Lance off by himself.

            “Are you sure I can’t come with you?” Keith asked his lover quietly. Lance turned to him and grabbed his hands.

            “If the Matrons have become hostile to outsiders then it would be too dangerous for anyone to come. They know me and won’t hurt me.”

            “Will they remember you after so long? How do you even know they’re still alive?”

            Lance laughed. “The Matrons remember everything – they’re almost like gods. You all need to trust me, I can do this.”

            “We aren’t doubting you Lance, but it’s been an awfully long time since you were last on the planet. There’s no saying what’s changed,” Coran said.

            “I’ll be alright.”

            “Okay well, the cloaking on the pod should get you past the Galra blockade. Matt and I perfected it with…” Pidge trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing. “With Trigel’s help on Olkarion.”

            “But we don’t know how far Galra tech has advanced in ten thousand years. It was perfect back then but now… who knows,” Matt added.

            “I have a theory about that,” Coran said. “It seems like the Galra have been the dominant force in the universe for a very long time. History tells us that when a people becomes so dominant, their focus on technology lessens. With nothing to challenge them they have no reason to focus resources on advancements. I’m sure the Galra have indeed developed upgrades in these ten thousand deca-phoeb’s, but I doubt they will have come as far as we may imagine. They will have simply not had much reason to.”

            “Coran’s right. I’m sure the cloaking will be sufficient, and Lance I know you are getting tired of hearing it, but you must be absolutely sure. This will be a one-way trip in the pod. It doesn’t have the power to make an ascent from water, unfortunately Altean pods were not designed for water takeoffs, so if Blue isn’t there we may not be able to retrieve you with any haste,” Allura said.

            “She’s there.”

            “Then we shouldn’t waste any more time. Lance keep your comm on, Hunk said it should withstand the pressure of the ocean depths. We might not be able to come with you, but we’ll be on the comms the whole time.”

            “Thanks Shiro,” Lance said with a small smile. He looked over the worried faces of his friends – Allura fists clenched at her sides, Hunk wringing his hands, Pidge obsessively adjusting her glasses, and Keith standing silent and still with his jaw clenched. He knew that they didn’t fully believe Blue was on Nalquod, but Lance had no doubts. He just wished he could somehow explain to them the feeling in his heart, the pull at the back of his mind, the distant crash of waves in his ears.

            He needed to go home, and if nothing else, even if somehow he was wrong, at least the Matrons may be able to give him answers. Maybe they could tell him what happened to Blaytz and the other paladins. It had been ten thousand deca-phoeb’s so the chances of them being alive were miniscule, but the not knowing was eating away at all of them. Lance and everyone else needed closure, and the Altean hoped the matrons could give them that.

            Lance gave Keith one last lingering kiss, trying to pour as much reassurance and love into the affectionate gesture as possible, before stepping into the pod and waving off.

 

            Space was no different than it always had been, ten thousand years was nothing to it. It was just as cold and beautiful as always.

            As he stared at it Lance was struck with a strange dysphoria – his mind still struggled to comprehend that what felt like one night of sleep for him had actually been the passing of many millennia. It seemed so strange and impossible that life just lost all meaning for a moment.

 _“Lance can you hear us?”_ Allura’s voice through the comm piece in his ear snapped Lance back to reality. The strange distant feeling vanished and he took a shuddering breath.

            “I’m here,” he said.

_“Are you alright?”_

            “I’m fine.”

 _“Alright,”_ Allura didn’t sound convinced, but she also didn’t push it. _“I’m opening a wormhole now. It will drop you quite far outside of the range of the blockade, but from there it should only take around one varga to get planetside. To be safe, activate your cloaking as soon as you clear the wormhole,”_ she said.

             “Got it.”

 

            The cockpit lit up with the bright white glow of the wormhole as it appeared in front of him. Lance maxed out his thrust and sped towards the portal. His body seized with anxiety as he went through, replaced by a distant stillness as it snapped closed behind him. That was his mind’s way of shutting off his negative emotions during stressful times. It allowed him to function normally for a while, but it was usually followed by an emotional crash after all was settled.

            He’d worry about that later.

            “Activating my cloaking,” Lance said.

_“Good. We’ll monitor your progress from here. If something doesn’t seem right tell us immediately and we’ll open a wormhole to get you out.”_

            “I will.”

 

            The journey to Nalquod felt unbearably slow to Lance. Anticipation filled him as the planet came into view, the great blue orb surrounded by a plague of massive purple Galra ships. They remained still as he approached and so far it looked like the cloaking was staying strong.

             Even so, he couldn’t help but hold his breath as he passed beside one of the ships. It looked so familiar to the ships that he’d once rode on with Lotor, like the ones that had rescued him from pirate fleets when he was a kid. Coran was right, they hadn’t changed much in ten thousand deca-phoeb’s.

            “Scanning the surrounding ships for you guys,” Lance whispered. He didn’t know why he whispered, but he just couldn’t bring himself to talk normal with a battle cruiser right next to him.

_“We’re receiving the data. We’ll get to work analyzing everything on our end.”_

             Lance didn’t respond until he’d cleared the blockade and began his descent towards the planet’s surface.

            “Heading down now. I’ll let you know when I’m in the water.”

_“Alright. Since you can’t speak through the comm underwater, remember our signals. One tap to the comm, all is well. Two taps, possible danger. Three taps means your life is at risk. Four taps…”_

            “Death imminent,” Lance finished for her. “I remember.”

 

            When Lance finally cleared atmo, he slowed his descent so he could take a moment to just observe the plane that had become his home. Coordinates showed that he was descending over where the capital city had once been, but now it was just endless water.

            Nalquod had always been a water planet, but the landmasses that had existed boasted beautiful blue hued cities, made from the rare blue metal extracted from the ocean floor. Everything was designed in elegant, sweeping lines that made the buildings look like waves turned solid. Every city had been just as beautiful as the ocean itself, and now they were all gone. Every trace of the powerful and intelligent Nalquodi people was gone. Just another thing the Galra had stolen away from him.

            The landing of the pod was rough – as Allura had said, Altean ships weren’t designed for water. It bounced and skipped over the surface before crashing to a stop in a wave of turquoise water.

            Lance popped the hatch open and looked down at the dark depths, and he didn’t hesitate. The oceans here had never frightened him, and as soon as his body felt the warmth of the familiar waters tension leeched out of him. It had been a long time, but they still felt like home. A familiar hum rattled through his mind and he knew then that he was recognized, and he was welcomed.

           “I’m in the water. They know I’m here and they recognize me. Everything’s going to be okay,” Lance said, and at the same time he began to shift his body. Gills sprouted along his neck, his skin thickened, a transparent secondary eyelid grew, webbing appeared between his fingers and his feet lengthened and widened into a fin-like shapes. Inside he shifted as well, changing his anatomy to be able to handle the immense pressure his body would be subjected to as he submerged into the dark abyss where the Matrons of the Deep resided.

 _“Good. Please be safe, Lance,”_ Allura said.

          “I will, don’t worry.”

 

          He dove, his secondary eyelid closing to protect his eyes from debris in the water. Another shift made everything below the surface brighten, and he could feel vibrations in the water as sea creatures swam just out of sight. He could taste and scent changes in the water.

          As he went down he could feel that there were Nalquodi in the water, lingering just out of sight, sensing his movements the way he sensed theirs, but they made no move to interact. The Matrons of the Deep may remember him, but the regular Nalquodi only had lifespans of a few centuries meaning this generation would likely have no knowledge of him or Blaytz. They only left him alone because the Matrons accepted his presence.

         The water got darker and darker, and he had to rely solely on his senses as his vision cut off completely. He could feel the crushing weight of the water, but Blaytz had taught him how to adjust his body to compensate for it.

         Down. Down. Down. The presence of the Nalquodi lessened until he was utterly alone save for the strange and mysterious creatures that dwelled on the bottom of the ocean.

         It was somehow colder than Lance remembered, and he paused to thicken his skin further to insulate himself against it.

 

          Finally Lance stopped, the ocean floor near but not quite within reach. He stopped, and he waited.

 _“Is everything going okay?”_ Allura’s voice sounded loud and intrusive in the silence of the bottom of the ocean. It grated on his ears and made him flinch. It was just so wrong to hear a voice like that this far down where it should be quiet.

          Lance tapped once, and then ignored all sense of caution and plucked the comm device from his ear and threw it away. The little device fluttered down into the darkness.

         Only then did something stir. He couldn’t see in the oppressive darkness, but he could _feel._ The waters stirred and vibrated as something gargantuan came to life. The currents shifted and Lance felt something draw closer. He got the impression of a long serpentine body too big to comprehend, a huge open maw big enough to swallow a whole fleet of Galra dreadnaught class battle cruisers. He got the impression of rows and rows of spiked teeth, each one taller than the tallest building he’d ever seen. He got the impression of his complete and utter insignificance before abruptly it vanished and in front of him hovered a pink skinned Nalquodi, glowing with her own inner light. She was beautiful and her face was kind. Lance’s eyes went from her, to the darkness behind her and once again his mind tried to see the massive leviathan, but the image was chased away and he once again looked at the Nalquodi.

         She wasn’t real, of course. She was the avatar that the Matrons of the Deep projected into his head. A form his eyes and mind could comprehend and interact with. Their psychic abilities forced his mind to stop trying to comprehend their impossible size and power, and let him see something his mind could tolerate.

**_My sweet child, you return._ **

****

        The voice swept through his mind like a gentle wave. He couldn’t help but smile. He swam closer towards the outstretched arms and allowed them to embrace him. He knew it wasn’t real, he knew that it was the Matrons tricking his mind into thinking this motherly Nalquodi was truly there, but he needed it.

 

 _I’m happy to be back. I’m sorry for being away for so long._ Lance didn’t need to say the words. The Matrons were in his mind and could hear the thoughts he directed towards them.

 

       His mind echoed with something like a laugh.

 

**_It has not been long to our perception of time, but we missed you ever the same. We did not know if you lived or died._ **

****

_You didn’t know?_

**_No. Ten thousand deca-phoeb’s ago your mind disappeared from us. You were so far from us that we could not determine what the cause was._ **

****

_I was asleep for a very long time. A long time for a mortal that is._

**_I can see that, in your mind._ **

_What about Makua? Do you know what happened to him._

         The matron regarded him sadly.

****

**_His mind disappeared as yours did._ **

****

_But you didn’t feel him die?_

**_His mind disappeared. He very well could have died. As we said, when you are so far away from us our connection to you weakens. The last time we saw him, he left a gift for us to guard and not long after his mind was gone._** The matrons spoke patiently to him, and when sadness washed through Lance, they filled him with warm comfort.

 

 _I need what he left._ Lance said dejectedly. All their warmth and comfort couldn’t chase away the pain of not knowing what happened to his father.

 

**_Sweet child, stay here with us. The people here have regressed in many ways. Much of the knowledge they once had has been lost, but we are your family. You will be safe from the cursed war that forced us to swallow the planet. You have already endured enough suffering in your young life – do not go seeking more. If you choose to pick up your father’s mantle, only pain will follow._ **

_I have to. Makua believed in me and he always fought for what was right. I want to make him proud._

**_You should know even better than us how proud Blaytz was of you. If you chose to stay here and allow yourself to finally be at peace, he would not think poorly of you. You deserve to be at peace._ **

****

            Lance thought about his father and he knew the words were true. Blaytz wouldn’t want him to go off and fight in a war. But then he thought about his friends, waiting and probably worried sick back at the castle, thinking the worst since he’d thrown his comm piece away. Then he thought about how the Galra had enslaved the universe and stolen his family away from his friends and him. Finally, he thought about Blue. The semi-sentient lion that had probably been waiting for him for ten thousand deca-phoeb’s.

           And then, as the blue lion flashed through his mind, he felt a distant rumbling. The purr washed through his mind and unconsciously he turned away from the avatar of the Matrons to stare in the direction he now knew Blue was in.

 

           A sigh flitted through his mind and he turned back to the avatar. She looked sad.

 

**_We cannot stop you. You know where she is – she has been waiting and we have been teaching her. She has learned much in the time you have been gone. She will protect and guide you in our absence. Fight well, and when you are too weary to continue, promise us that you will pass the mantle to another and return to us to live out the rest of your days in peace._ **

****

_I promise._ Lance said, suddenly feeling emotion welling within him. The avatar opened her arms once more and Lance swam into the embrace. They stayed like that for a moment, and then the warmth was gone. Once again there was the feeling of something massive and deadly, then the currents shifted and in a great whirl of movement it was gone, and he was alone.

 

         The purring rumbled through his mind again and he turned and began to swim towards it. The trail led him up into the lighter parts of the ocean and sight returned. He continued swimming until vague shapes appeared in the distance. As he got closer, he saw the ruins of the capital city. Although, despite being underwater for so long, there wasn’t much ruined about the city. Everything was still standing, gleaming and strong, as if waiting for the day when the oceans would fall and it could once again rise up beautiful and strong.

          Lance swam through the watery streets, nostalgia as his memories projected images over the top of the scene. Images of laughing blue-skinned Nalquodi, streets filled with the smell of food. They had always been a boisterous people, and the city had always been filled with joyful sounds.

          Now it was filled with the silence of the ocean. No Nalquodi swam around, though he could still feel them just beyond the range of his vision, tracking every movement he made.

          The capitol building came into view. The massive domed citadel had served as the meeting place for the king and the clan matrons. It was from there that the purring led him.

          The doors were already opened, and when he swam through he saw the blue lion sitting in the center of the amphitheater surrounded by a glowing blue particle barrier. She was as beautiful as she had been when Lance had first seen her. He couldn’t help but smile.

          When he got close enough, Lance put his hand to the barrier, and under his touch it faded away. The lion’s eyes lit up and her mouth opened. The Altean wasted no time swimming through, and once her mouth was closed water began draining out. He shifted back to his regular form and walked into the cockpit, running his hands over everything before sitting in the pilot’s chair.

          “Hey girl,” he said. Impressions crashed through him. Joy, welcoming, affection, loneliness. Lance smiled and rubbed a hand over the console.

          “I know it’s been a long time, sorry about that. How about we get out of here and go fight some Galra?”

          Agreement and anticipation prickled his mind and Lance laughed.

          “Okay, first can you try connecting to the castle? I sort of threw away my comms device.”

           A huff of amusement came from Blue, but that was it as the controls lit up.

          “Lance!” Allura’s worried face popped up on the front display. Lance waved a still dripping wet hand and smiled.

          “I found Blue,” he said.

          “You stopped responding to your comm. It’s been five vargas! What happened? How could you just go silent like that? Do you know how worried we were?” Allura snapped one question after another.

          “Sorry, I’ll explain everything when we get back. Blue doesn’t have cloaking abilities so I’m not going to be able to sneak past the Galra when I come back up. I’m going to need you to have a wormhole open for me.”

          “I’m transmitting coordinates to you. As soon as you clear atmo go straight there and I’ll open the wormhole. Don’t engage the Galra, just get out as quickly as you can. They won’t be expecting you so you may be able to slip past and through the wormhole before they can mount any sort of attack.”

          “Will do. I’m heading up now, I’ll signal when I am in space. Where is everybody else?” he asked as he took hold of the controls. Excitement flashed through him, and it wasn’t all his. Blue’s emotions were amplifying his own.

         Allura’s eyes shifted to the side. “They all left to go try and make the castle ready to launch. You went silent for five vargas. They… we…” Allura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was already disheveled, as if she’d been repeatedly running her hand through it for a while. “Just get back safely.”

         Lance nodded. He hadn’t even realized it had been so long. Then again…the Matrons had a way of distorting time, and then the swim to the capitol had taken quite some time.

         “I’m going to sign off for a moment. Patch back through when you’re up,” Allura said. The screen went blank.

         “I messed up,” Lance said, but flinched when it felt like claws kneaded into his brain. He guessed that was Blue’s way of telling him no.

         “Thanks girl, but it’s true.” They began a slow ascent through the water. “I wasn’t thinking right. I shouldn’t have ditched the comm. We lost everyone. Every single person we’ve ever known. If they weren’t killed in the war, they died of old age while we slept. We are all each other has left and I just… I went missing too for a little bit. If it had been one of them, if it had been Keith… I wouldn’t have handled it well.”

         Lance started shaking. One of the things that was guaranteed to set off his anxiety was getting in trouble. He couldn’t handle it, and now even though he knew everyone would just be relieve he was okay, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in trouble. That he’d done something wrong and they’d be angry at him.

         Blue’s mental claws pressed into his mind again, but they were softer this time. She kneaded into his head, a rumbling purr further coaxing his mind back away from the panic that wanted to surface.

         “Thank you,” Lance said with relief plain in his voice. A panic attacked was not what he needed right now. A happy purr was Blue’s response.

         “Okay beautiful, let’s break out of this blockade. Ready to go fast?”

         Secondhand excitement pulsed through him. Ten thousand deca-phoeb’s worth of excitement. He got the simple impression of ‘GO FAST’ coming from the lion. He had to laugh. She was ready.

         “Let’s do it then.” He pushed the thrusters forward and they launched out of the water and shot straight up, breaking the sound barrier in seconds. Flames licked over the view screen as they careened through the atmosphere, and then they were back among the stars.

         The cruisers around him started to light up, but Allura was right. They weren’t prepared for anything to come off the planet.

         “Coran!” Lance said after he reconnected the comms and the red-haired advisor popped up on the screen. “I’m up and heading to the coordinates. Cruisers around me are mobilizing but they’re slow.”

         “We’re opening the wormhole. Now, princess!” Coran yelled to Allura off screen.

          Lance’s radar showed a swarm of drone fighters dropping out of one of the larger cruisers to his left.

          A warning blare signaled a cruiser above him spitting out a swarm of it’s own. Eagerness to engage poured from Blue and into him, but he shook his head.

         “Now’s not the time,” he told her. Blue grumbled, but didn’t fight him as he increased thrust. She wasn’t as fast as Red, but once the beaming white wormhole appeared she left the Galra in her burn trail with ease.

         “We’re through, close it!”

          The wormhole snapped closed behind him. Lance took a deep breath and stared down at the green planet below him. There were no oceans here – just small lakes and rivers and a lot of underground water.

          “Alright Coran, I’ll be down in a minute.” Lance severed the communication and sat back.

          “Before we go down… Blue, do you know what happened to my father?” he asked softly. He couldn’t help the hope that laced his voice.

           Lance’s vision suddenly swam and he snapped his eyes closed. Images and sounds assaulted him, and when he opened his eyes he was back in the submerged capital building. He stared out through Blue’s eyes, and right in front of them floated Blaytz. Saddness and longing filled Lance, and he wasn’t sure if it came from him, Blue, or both of them. But he knew that the image of his father made emotion well in his chest.

           The Nalquodi smiled and patted Blue on the nose – something he did almost every time he saw the big girl. Through the bond the two shared, Lance felt the sadness and and love Blaytz felt for the lion. And then he sent her an image of Lance, and a feeling of protectiveness. His way of asking to lion to look out for his son.

           Then Blaytz was swimming away – disappearing into the blue waters and leaving Blue alone for ten thousand deca-phoeb’s.

           The vision snapped and Lance was back in Blue’s cockpit hovering over Arus. He wiped tears away and took a few quick, shaky breaths. He needed to keep it together for a little longer, at least until he found Keith and could hide away with him in their room, but everything in him wanted to scream and cry.

            Even Blue didn’t know what had happened to Makua. She’d shown Lance the very last time she’d ever seen the vibrant Nalquodi king, and just like the Matrons, she knew nothing more than that.

            “Okay girl. Okay. Let’s get down there. We don’t know where Red, Yellow, and Green are yet, but Black’s there – she won’t respond to any of us but I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.” Lance’s voice was a little too high and thready, but he was managing to keep himself together.

            Something like a bemused snort went through Lance’s mind followed by more emotions and he couldn’t help but laugh.

            “Are you trying to tell me that Black is pouting?” he asked. Agreement came from the lion. Lance patted her console and smiled.

            “I can see why you and Makua got along got along so well.”

            Blue purred. Lance patted her one more time, then took them down.

\----

 

            “I’m so happy you’re alive!” Hunk had Lance crushed in a damaging hug. The Altean wanted to tell his friend he wouldn’t be alive much longer if the bigger man kept crushing him like that, but he couldn’t draw in any breath to speak.

            “Hunk let him go before he suffocates,” Pidge said with mock exasperation. Hunk sniffled, but complied and set Lance back on his feet. Matt reached out and steadied him when he stumbled, and Lance shot him a grateful smile.

            Shiro and Allura stepped up next. Allura gave him a much gentler hug, and Shiro patted his shoulder and smiled gently.

            “Good job getting Blue back. You did well,” he said. Lance beamed and nodded, but he couldn’t help from scanning the room for the thousandth time, still looking for the one who wasn’t there. Shiro noticed, of course.

            “He’s on the training deck,” Shiro said, his voice as soft as his smile.

            “Is he really mad?” Lance couldn’t help but ask. Shiro immediately shook his head and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

            “I don’t think Keith could ever be mad at you for anything. We were all worried, him most of all. He just needed to work out his stress.”

            “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have thrown the comm away but down there with the Matrons I couldn’t be interrupted and I wasn’t thinking and they wouldn’t talk to me if I had something else going through my head. I know it was stupid and I should have warned you in some way about what I was doing…”

            “Lance,” Shiro said, interrupting the younger man’s babbling. “We aren’t mad at you. None of us are mad. What you did was really stressful, and you had no way to warn us down there. You had to make a judgment call and everything worked out. We were worried of course, but you made it back safely and that’s what matters.”

            Lance swallowed hard and nodded.

            “Pidge, Hunk, and Matt are all going to look over Blue and make sure she’s alright. You go to the training deck and speak with Keith,” Allura said.

            Lance nodded and walked out, but his entire time walking through the hallways he had to keep reminding himself that Keith loved him. That Keith wouldn’t be mad at him. That Keith would rather die than hurt him. The anxiety still crept in.

            It wasn’t that he doubted Keith, and before the war he’d actually had a long conversation with his lover about this issue. Keith had been hurt when Lance had flinched back from him when the half-galra had been angry about a separate issue. Lance had then had to explain to him that he didn’t react well to negative emotions, even when they weren’t directed at him. He’d explained that he knew with absolute certainty that Keith would never hurt him, but his reactions weren’t always logical.

            It had taken a long time, but Keith had finally understood that if Lance ever appeared afraid of him, it wasn’t either of their faults. Sometimes Lance just could not control it. He’d had the same reactions with Blaytz and Lotor at some point, and he’d had the same conversation with both of them.

           But it was frustrating for Lance. He didn’t want to be scared of the people he loved. And it hurt them to see Lance being afraid of them. So he tried, desperately, to calm himself down before he made it to the training deck, but he couldn’t help but curl in on himself a little bit when he activated the door.

           Keith was there, sword out, hacking away at a bot, but the moment he saw Lance he called and end to the training sequence.

           “I’m sorry,” Lance said before the other could say anything. Keith sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

           “I’m not mad,” he said softly, but Lance flinched anyways. He didn’t know why. Keith noticed but didn’t say anything.

           “I know, but it wasn’t fair to disappear like that.”

           “You did what you had to, and I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you when you got back I just…” Keith trailed off and closed his eyes. Lance took a tentative step forward.

           “Keith?”

           “We lost everything,” Keith said. Lance stopped moving forward and just listened. “We lost our planets, our people, our parents. The only thing we have left is this castle and each other, and we all just let you go off by yourself. When you stopped responding I just…I thought we lost you too and it made me realize how much I wouldn’t be able to handle that. We’re all barely keeping ourselves together – I’m barely keeping myself together, and losing you would be too much.”

           Lance had been planning to tell Keith about what he’d learned from the Matrons, and from Blue. That neither knew what had happened to their parents. He’d planned to be comforted, but he swallowed that down now. Keith was the one who needed comfort this time.

           “What do you need?” Lance asked. Keith huffed.

           “I don’t know. Just kiss me and don’t do anything dangerous for a while.”

            Lance laughed and stepped forward. They kissed and wrapped around each other, staying like that for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we found Blue! I don't think I'm going to do individual chapters for finding each lion. It just feels a little too slow and stagnant and I want things to pick up pace again.


	30. You're My Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins retrieve the red lion, and then fluff follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the fandom is literally on fire right now after S6, I bring you all an update filled with pure, wholesome, domestic, sugary sweet fluff. Seriously this is probably the fluffiest chapter I've ever written in anything ever. I think I gave myself a cavity. 
> 
> It's also my birthday so here's my birthday gift to all of you :)
> 
> Season 6 reaction is in the end notes if you're interested.

Chapter 30

“This wasn’t exactly how I pictured this going!” Keith grunted while Blue did another flip to avoid a beam headed straight for them. Lance just laughed.

“How did you picture an attack on a Galra battlecruiser going then?”

“Differently! I forgot what a crazy pilot you are!”

“Hey! I’m an amazing pilot.”

“That doesn’t mean you still aren’t crazy.”

“ _Can you two focus!_ ” Pidge snapped over the commas. The retrieval of green had been relatively easy so Lance didn’t think she had much room to complain.

“Hey, I’m super focused! I haven’t been hit once!”

 _“Paladins, please stop arguing,”_ Allura’s voice snapped over the comms.

“Yes mother,” Lance quipped. Laughs echoed over the channel, and even Blue rumbled a laugh into his mind.

“Okay, I’m about to breach the cruiser? You ready to go in Keith?”

“I’m ready.”

“Good, give me a kiss for good luck.”

Keith smirked. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be kissing me for good luck?”

“I’m a little busy,” Lance said. He pulled one of this controls back, causing Blue to jerk sideways into a spin. 

“Alright, I guess I can come to you.” Keith darted forward, pecked Lance on the lips, then pulled back and headed towards the entrance of the lion. 

 _“You two are_ _disgustingly_ _cute_ _,”_ Pidge mumbled. Lance landed Blue on the belly of the ship and Keith made short work of cutting through the hull and getting inside.

_“Alright everyone, let’s focus._ _Pidge you need to keep those drones away from Blue while Keith is on the ship. You up to it?_ _”_

_“_ _You got it space dad,”_ Pidge said. Shiro groaned. 

 _“Please tell me this isn’t going to become a thing_ _with Allura and I_ _,”_ Shiro said. 

 _“Well you two are the oldest,”_ Hunk said. 

 _“And already act like a married couple,”_ Matt said. There was a smack, then the sound of Matt’s uproarious laughter despite him being the one to receive the hit. 

“And Coran is more like our space uncle, which makes you two space mom and dad,” Lance said.

 _“I think it’s wonderfully fitting_ _! I’m honored to be your space uncle_ _!”_ Coran said. 

 _“But Lance is kind of the mom friend. Like, he’s always nagging us to go to sleep, or eat more,_ _take better care of our skin,”_ Hunk said.

 _“Oh my god Lance is totally the mom friend!”_ Pidge agreed happily.

“I’ll take it,” Lance laughed.

 _“What does that make Keith?”_ Pidge asked. 

 _“Glad you all are having fun, but can you be quiet for_ _a few ticks while I’m infiltrating a_ _Galra_ _battlecruiser,”_ Keith ground out before they could assign him a title.

“Sorry love,” Lance said. There was a sheepish chorus of ‘sorry’ and then everything fell silent aside from Pidge's cackling as she led Galra drone fighters on a wild goose chase.

_“Found red_ _but her particle barrier isn’t opening.”_

“Uh oh.”

 _“Try again Keith,”_ Allura said. Lance knew this was a serious moment, but he had to put a hand to his mouth to stifle a laugh at Keith’s attempts to persuade Red. 

 _“Guys I'm getting a bit overwhelmed out here,” Pidge_  said. 

 _“She won’t let me in! Maybe I’m not actually meant to pilot her,”_ Keith said. 

_“I am sure you are meant to be her pilot Keith, but according to father the Red Lion was always a little…temperamental.”_

_“Great. I’m stuck on an enemy ship with a temperamental sentient robot lion,”_ Keith grumbled. _“_ _He’s_ _probably not even all that fast like father said._ _He_ _probably doesn’t think_ _he_ _can handle fighting the drone_ _s_ _out there_ _. If_ _he’s_ _scared we can_ _just clear out more fighters to make it easier.”_

Lance winced when a grating roar ripped through his mind. Startled exclamations from Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro told him they’d felt the same thing. Apparently Red didn’t like being doubted. 

 _“The barrier is down!_ _”_ Keith shouted. 

 _“Keith you must hurry! We are detecting more signals coming your way. You need to get out of there immediately_ _!”_ Allura said.

_“Got it! We’re powering up.”_

_“Lance,”_ Shiro said, _“disengage now_ _!”_

“Alright, I’m taking off.” Lance detached himself from the hull of the battle cruiser, and a moment later the side of the ship exploded and the Red Lion emerged from the debris. 

 _“I’m opening a wormhole, everything get through immediately,”_ Allura said. Lance spun around, Red at his side, and followed the Green lion through the glowing portal. Drones followed them, but as soon as they were through the portal snapped closed and they were once again in the peaceful orbit around Arus. 

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Just to warn everyone, I'm going to kiss Keith really hard and for a really long time the second we leave our lions," Lance said. 

"Oh god please no."

"Do that in your room!"

"I think that is something that should be done in privacy."

"You guys should try to restrain yourselves."

"You both are really cute. Ow! Allura stop hitting me!"

"Young love is so magical."

"I'm not going to complain.

"Shut up Keith!" Everyone chorused. Lance's guffaw of laughter echoed through the comms. For a moment it was easy to forget everything that was going on. This was just like how they used to be. Banter, laughter, love, support...happiness. 

Despite all the protests, Lance kept his word. He threw himself at Keith the second the red paladin was out of his lion. 

"Well!" Allura said over-loud. "The final lion is yellow. According to my readings she has been hidden on a Balmera a few systems away."

"A Balmera! Rygnyrath used to have strong alliances with most Balmeras, and the Balmeran people!" Hunk said excitedly. 

"Oh yeah," Lance said, pulling away from Keith but staying draped against him like he loved to do. "Wasn't your first love a Balmeran? And your second, and third, and fifth, and eighth I think."

"I didn't know that," Matt said with a smirk, sharing a leer with Pidge who also hadn't known. 

"Lance!" Hunk snapped, face flushing red. 

"Tell us more," Pidge said. 

"Well the first one was like, only a couple months after we all met. Remember when Hunk and Gyrgan left on that brief mission to a Balmera? I didn't even really understand what a crush was at the time, but when he came back he couldn't stop telling me all about..."

"I think we all need to get some rest. We can begin planning our retrieval of the yellow lion tomorrow." Shiro's voice was patient, but tense. 

"I think that's a fantastic idea Shiro. I'll start prepping dinner while the rest of you take a rest."

"Coran you've been working with me all day to repair the castle, you should rest too," Matt said. 

"Nonsense! I'm older and therefore have way more energy than you sleepy youngins. 

Everyone laughed, but ultimately complied. Lance and Keith hid themselves away in their room, and as soon as the door was shut behind them Lance was kissing Keith again. Keith chuckled into the kiss but didn't pull away until the other was ready. He knew well how Lance needed to constantly reassure himself of Keith's presence. He always needed to ground himself in reality, to ensure everyone he loved was with him, to ensure Keith was really there with him. His need for physical affection had gotten more desperate after they all woke up – despite that, everyone was impressed and relieved at how stable he was remaining through everything. 

"Sorry," Lance finally pulled away. 

"Don't apologize to me, I get it. Let's take a bath then go for dinner."

Lance agreed and the pair stepped into the bathroom. They remained quiet as they filled the bath with hot water, added scented oils and softeners that turn the water a deep, cloudy blue, then finally stripped and settled in with Keith sitting in front of Lance so the Altean could wash and play with his hair. 

It was only when Lance was working suds into Keith's hair that he finally spoke again. 

"How did it feel? Getting into the red lion and piloting him?" he asked softly. Keith swam back up from the near trance Lance's ministrations had put him in and purred quietly. 

"It felt like home. It felt like father. For a second, when Red's mind connected with mine, it felt like he was there with me."

"I felt the same. Blue made me feel safe and kind of like a missing piece of me was finally in place. She made me feel connected to makua again."

Keith purred again and let himself relax more as his lover's strong finger massaged his scalp. 

"I know we have a long road, but piloting Red made me feel hope for the first time since we woke up."

Lance's fingers stopped, and instead he wrapped his arms around Keith's waist and buried his head in the scruff of his neck. 

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, but baby, are you okay?" Keith rested his hands on Lance's and pulled the Altean's arms tighter around him. He wished he could turn around and see Lance's face, but he showed no signs of letting up enough for Keith to maneuver. The sudden emotion in Lance's voice worried him.

"I'm good, I just want to feel you" Lance sighed. His muscled relaxed and his clinging turned more into a cuddle. 

"Okay, let's finish bathing quickly then I can give you a quick massage before we eat." 

"Yes please," Lance said sweetly. Keith laughed and Lance finally pulled back and finished washing his hair. While the conditioning agent was settling Keith washed Lance's hair in turn, and so it went they kept switching back and forth pampering each other until finally they drained the bath and walked sedately into the bedroom. Lance laid on his stomach without prompting and Keith crawled up to him and immediately settled down to massage. 

He started on Lance's back, kneading the scarred expanse in the areas he knew usually bothered his love the most. Then he moved to the arms, paying attention to spots where old breaks acted up, then finally his legs to do the same.

So many of Lance's injuries from his hellish childhood had healed poorly or wrong. He'd had to live with the damage for so long that the healing pods couldn't do much to fix the old wounds once he'd finally been rescued. The effects of that neglect made themselves know to Lance after a long day when the skin around the scars on his back would stretch and itch and twinge painfully, when the limbs with poorly healed breaks would ache and throb. 

Keith knew each and every spot well. His fingers were gentle, but firm enough that Lance occasionally tensed with pain at certain spots, but he didn't complain. They both knew that the relief afterwards outweighed the discomfort the actual massage could sometimes cause. Keith had done this so many times that he knew exactly how much pressure he could use to help the most without overwhelming him.

"Lance." Keith gently shook the languid Altean who looked almost in a trance. 

"Hmm?" Lance hummed distantly. 

"I'm finished. We need to go eat."

"Mm," Lance grumbled and didn't move. 

"Do I have to carry you?"

"Mhm."

Keith stood up, then scooped up the thinner man and threw him over his shoulder. Lance yelped in surprise and immediately pounded his fists against Keith's back. 

"Let me down you big feline!" 

"You said you wanted me to carry you," Keith said.

"You can't trust my words when you've hypnotized me with a massage!"

"I'm just doing what you want."

"For star's sake Keith, I'm naked."

Keith laughed and set the Altean down, grinning at him. Lance sulked and puffed out his bottom lip. Keith leaned forward and captured the offending lip in a kiss, nibbling it a little until Lance returned the affection. 

"Let's get dressed," he said, pulling away finally. 

"You are so not fair."

Keith just laughed as he walked over to the closet and pulled out his clothes. Lance grumbled, but followed suit and soon enough they were both dressed comfortably. Lance turned to walk to the door, but Keith intercepted and without warning grabbed him by the waist and once again hauled him over his shoulder. 

"Dammit Keith!" Lance snapped. Keith laughed and activated the door pad. 

The door opened to reveal Shiro and Pidge on the other side who had been walking by on their way to the kitchen. They took in the duo, Lance slung over Keith's shoulder sulking, and smirked. 

"Are you bullying Lance?" Shiro asked. 

"No," Keith said while Lance shouted "yes!" This just made the duo laugh. 

"Don't laugh, Shiro help meeee!" Lance whined. 

"I was not bullying you. I just spent almost a varga giving you a massage."

"And ruined it by throwing me over your shoulder."

"You asked me to."

"I was half asleep!"

"How are you two still so disgusting with each other?" Pidge grumbled.  

Keith finally relented and gently lowered Lance to the floor, pecking him on the lips and grinning. 

"You're lucky you're so cute," Lance grumbled. 

"I'm definitely lucky." 

"Ugh, can you two just go back to your room?"

"Pidge, they're fine," Shiro laughed. But he still seemed a little too tense – it was obvious in the tightness around his eyes and the set of his shoulders. 

"Fine."

The foursome walked together towards the kitchen and saw everyone already there, Hunk and Matt engaged in a tense conversation that involved a lot of big hand gestures. Allura was playing with her mice while Coran puttered around preparing dishes. Arus boasted a lot of edible, albeit strange, plants. Since it was a Coran dish, chances were it would be strongly flavored and barely edible, but they were used to his cooking from long before the war had ever started. 

"Good! The rest of you are here! Let's all sit down, chop chop!" Coran said. Everyone complied, and collectively pretended both that Coran's dishes tasted good and that everything was okay. 

\----

 "Lance, what are you doing?" Keith asked groggily. He started to sit up in bed, but Lance just pushed him back down. 

"My leg's acting up a bit, I'm going to walk around."

"Let me come with you."

"No you need to get some sleep. You're the one who did the most work today."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's really just my leg. It'll feel better once I move for a while."

"Don't be too long kay?"

Lance smiled fondly and leaned down to kiss Keith's temple. The half-Galra purred at the affection then burrowed deeper into his pillow. 

Once he was settled, Lance carefully stood up, wincing when his leg twinged where one of his worst breaks had been. He spared a moment to do some light stretches, then left the room to do a couple laps around the castle. 

He wasn't expecting to see Shiro alone in the training room, pale, sweaty, and exhausted, but showing no signs of stopping in his fight against a gladiator bot. From the looks of him, this wasn't the first bot he'd faced, or even the tenth.  

Lance's eyes went wide and he stepped inside. Shiro's eyes flicked to the side at the movement, spotted him, and something like shame crossed his face. 

"End training sequence," he called through panting breaths. They stared at each other for a tense moment until Lance smiled softly. 

"Do you want to walk with me?" he asked as if it was the most normal thing ever to find Shiro training himself to death in the middle of the night. 

"Uhm."

"My leg is acting up so I need to walk it out. I wouldn't mind company."

Shiro seemed speechless for a moment, then finally nodded. Lance grinned in return and motioned the older man out with him. 

They fell into step together, setting a slow pace in their nighttime walk. Lance didn't ask any questions, and Shiro didn't say anything to fill the silence, but the atmosphere was comfortable. 

"I..." Shiro started. Lance looked at him, and when they locked eyes he could see the conflict on Shiro's face. 

"I know that you all don't talk to me about serious stuff cause you're worried it'll overwhelm me and I'll break down, but I'm actually pretty good at listening," Lance said, purposely keeping any accusation or hurt out of his voice. It did hurt that no one felt like they could confide in him, but he also understood. 

"I just... I'm struggling to accept that my father... that Zarkon has become a monster. He did so much for me. He didn’t have to save me, but he did. He didn't have to give me a new arm, he didn't have to give me a family, he didn't have to love me, but he did. He was patient and kind, he supported me in every possible way he could. He was the best person I knew... he was my hero. Even though he tried to kill me I just can't reconcile that with the person who gave me a family and a home."

Lance's heart broke a little. After Shiro had crashed on Altea there hadn't been time to try to comfort him over the fact that his father had personally tried to kill him. The war had started, everyone had gone into crisis mode, and the next thing they knew they were all being ushered into cryo pods. Shiro had never really had to time to process what had happened. 

"Whoever the person is that subjugated the universe, it's not your father. People don't come back from the dead – he died when he stepped into the rift, and whatever rose and tried to kill you wasn't Zarkon. He died a good man."

"But how can I fill his shoes? How can I become the leader he was?"

"You and Lotor were my heroes, you know? You were everything I wanted to be. I trusted you as a kid and I trust you now. We're all a team, and we're your family. You won't be alone through this, not ever."

Tears welled in Shiro's eyes and he was quick to blink them away. He offered a watery smiled and patted Lance's shoulder. 

"You're my hero too, Lance. I never knew it was possible for someone to endure what you did and come out of it with such compassion and wisdom. I'm really proud of you, and I know Lotor and Blaytz were too."

Lance choked down his own emotion.  "Alright come in big guy, you can't just say something like that and not get a hug," Lance said. Mostly he just wanted to hide his face so Shiro wouldn't see him cry. With a laugh the other man accepted the hug. They both probably held each other a little too tightly for it to be comfortable but there were no complaints on either side. 

"You should get some rest before Allura wakes up," Lance said softly, but he didn't release the hug.  

"Yeah she'll be worried if she wakes up and I'm not there."

"When is Allura not worried?" Lance huffed. Shiro chuckled. 

"She's kinda like me which means never." 

Lance smiled and squeezed Shiro tightly once more and pulled back. He still looked exhausted, but the tightness around his eyes was softer now. 

"Want me to help stretch out your leg before you go back. I know it can be tough to stretch it right on your own." Shiro said. Unconsciously he rolled his shoulder where he had the prosthetic. 

"That would be really nice, thanks."

They veered into one of the common rooms and Lance dropped to the floor. For ten dobash Shiro silently helped him stretch, helping manipulate the limb every which way according to how Lance instructed him. When they were done, Lance sighed in relief as the crawling feeling finally went away. 

"Thank you," he said, unable to keep that relief out of his voice. Shiro offered and hand and hauled him up. 

"Any time you need help and Keith isn't around just let me know. I know what it's like when old wounds act up."

"Thanks Shiro. Get some rest yeah?"

"I will. Thanks Lance. I mean it – I might have kept going all night if you hadn't shown up."

"Any time," Lance said, mimicking Shiro's words from before. They shared a smile full of understanding before parting ways back to their rooms and their respective loves.

Keith stirred when Lance walked back in, he seemed a little more awake and was half sitting up looking worried.

"That took a lot longer than usual, I was about to go looking for you. Are you okay?"

Lance smiled gently and crawled back into bed. He scooted close to Keith and pushed the half-Galra back down so he could use him as a pillow. Keith's hands came up and wrapped around him loosely and he began rubbing circles into Lance's back. 

"I'm fine. I encountered Shiro and we talked a little. He helped me stretch my leg."

"Shiro was up at this time?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it later. Let's get some sleep." 

Keith hummed in response and pressed a kiss to Lance's hair. 

"Love you," he whispered. Lance smiled and closed his eyes. 

"Love you too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My initial reaction to season 6 is neutral, a lot of things happened that needed to happen to answer questions and fill in gaps and there were some truly stunning, heart wrenching moments that had me holding my breath. Not to mention the animation because oh my god there were beautifully animated scenes. But I think some characters were treated very poorly. Namely, Lance and Allura. I'm not even talking about the lack of Lance and Keith interaction, I have really no expectations for that at this points (sobs), but I think they really did Lance and Allura dirty. 
> 
> Allura's actions were OOC in my opinion, and really shady with how she treated Lance. As soon as the mice told her about what Lance said, she would have realized how serious he actually was and it seems far more like her character to have confronted him and politely turned him down immediately. Instead, she got the information and just continued her fling with Lotor, completely ignoring Lance's feeling, until she got betrayed and he was a convenient shoulder to cry on. She has never been portrayed as that kind of character and this season made her out to be shallow and seriously inconsiderate. 
> 
> And Lance... Lance was just completely and utterly dismissed at almost ever single turn. I mean, literally he might as well have been invisible this season. Ignored by Keith, ignored by Allura (until it was convenient for her), ignored and mocked by Pidge and Hunk. When he was being beaten by Lotor's governess no one even twitched a muscle in his direction to help. I mean he LITERALLY DIED, and not one person talked about it, comforted him, mentioned it, expressed worry over it? It was never mentioned. Ever. When he was sobbing over Shiro, saying it was his fault, no one even acknowledged him! Everyone keeps talking about how Shiro died and I'm here like SO DID LANCE. Yeah, Allura saved him in time, but he still died and no one cared. 
> 
> Those things really just rubbed me the wrong way. I feel like they were treated callously and either this is the studios way of trying to force a romance/romantic bond between Allura and Lance, or they are trying desperately hard to divert attention away from Klance. Or they really just don't care about Lance's character and want to continue treating him like a joke. I'm not even upset about the zero Klance interaction, I'm upset about how poorly the studio is treating Lance's character. 
> 
> And that's all folks!


	31. Amorphous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes after the yellow lion. 
> 
> Lance sees something that sends the whole team spiraling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was ridiculously hard to get out. As I mentioned before, this story won't be following the show. It'll have elements and certain events, but it's going to follow a different plot. 
> 
> That being said, plot establishing chapters are really hard to get out sometimes and this was a plot establishing chapter and man, it was really fighting me. 
> 
> Hopefully chapters will come easier now that I've established some things I needed to. 
> 
> Also, warning, there's some light fluffy smut at the end of this chapter. 
> 
> And as always, I have no beta so there's likely to be mistakes and it's unlikely I'll fix them any time soon unless there's one so big and glaringly bad that you can't sleep easily unless I fix it.

The mood in the room was sedate, each gaze focused on the map in front of them. No one knew what to say or how to react. 

Pidge had sent out on her long-range scanners to the Balmera where Allura detected the presence of the yellow lion and the images that came back were equally horrifying and disheartening. 

“It’s dying,” Hunk murmured, unable to tear his eyes away from the living planet-sized creature. The Galra had infested it like parasite, burrowing into its body with complete disregard for the pain it would cause the creature. They were an infestation, sucking the life out of something that deserved nothing but reverence and respect and Hunk was angry, so angry because he’d seen so many Balmeras. He’d met so many Balmerans who were born and nurtured by the living planets. They were kind, peaceful, with no capacity for hate or violence and now this Balmera was nearly dead and none of its people were in sight. 

“They are mining it to death without returning anything. With the size of the Galra Empire, they’ve likely killed hundreds of Balmeras like this,” Allura said. 

Lance put a hand on Hunk’s shoulder, offering what paltry comfort he could in the face of the travesty they had uncovered. Hunk offered him a tight smile in return, but there was little comfort to be had right then. 

They’d all known, conceptually, that the Galra now were a pale echo of the once mighty and just people of the past. They’d  _known_ , but they hadn’t understood, not really, until they saw how the Galra were slowing torturing a living creature to death in their quest for energy to fuel their fleets. There was this small part of them that hoped they could find some small saving grace, some tiny piece of evidence to show them that the Galra hadn’t become creatures of pure malice.  

That hope was snuffed out brutally. There could be no excuse for this. There was no hope left o be had. The Galra, their Galra, their once great allies, were gone. Truly gone. 

Shiro’s breath hitched. One little sound, barely audible, as that realization hit him. His father’s people,  _his_ people, were gone. Whatever these Galra were, they weren’t his anymore. 

That little sound from Shiro snapped the string of tension that connected all eyes to the cycling pictures transmitted to them by the drone. 

“Shiro,” Allura said softly. She stepped up to her lover and put a hand on his face, pulling his eyes to her and his mind away from its cycling thoughts. 

“I’m okay,” he said. 

“I know you are.” Allura smiled but didn’t drop her hand. Shiro nuzzled into her touch for a moment, letting the softened atmosphere extend until he felt steady enough to pull away. He thought of his father, the Zarkon he’d loved, and his next breath settled into his bones and infused him with strength. These were not his people, this Zarkon was not his father, and he wouldn’t allow his memories of them to be tainted. 

“Alright. This mission now has to be about more than just retrieving the yellow lion. I know we aren’t ready, we’re scared, and we’re mourning, but the Balmera and its people need us and we need to do everything in our power to save them,” Shiro said. 

Allura’s smile turned fierce when she gazed out and the paladins. Her paladins. They were young, but they were ready.  

“Our parents needed time to bond with their lions, and with each other. They started as enemies, became uneasy allies, before become close friends and eventually family. They had to struggle to form their bonds. They all became great, but we will be greater. We know each other better than we know ourselves. We love each other, we have grown together. We have no secrets, we have no hesitations, and even with only three lions we will crush anything that comes for us.”

“Only if Keith and Pidge can keep up with me,” Lance said with a grin and a wink at the red and green paladins. Blue’s laugh echoed through his mind, quickly chased away by a fiery thread of indignation from Red.

“You issuing a challenge sharpshooter?”

“Yeah I mean, of the pair of us, Blue is the bulkiest. Green and I will probably fly circles around you.” 

Blue’s roar of indignation reached them even from the lion hangar and it further collapsed the tension in the room as everyone fell into fits of laughter. Lance clutched a hand to his chest in mock indignation. 

“Well I never! Blue is a gorgeous full-bodied woman and I won’t let anyone, even one of my best friends and the love of my life, insult her in such a way! She’s beautiful just the way she is!”

The resulting purr in Lance’s mind had him closing his eyes in contentment, until Shiro flinched and gasped. All eyes went to him. 

“Shiro, what’s wrong?” Matt asked, stepping forward and putting a hand to his shoulder. 

“I felt something. I think... I think it was Black.”

“What did you feel?”

“It felt like... amusement.” Shiro’s eyes were wide, until his face split into a broad grin and her started laughing. “She’s happy,” Shiro continued. 

The laughter swept back through the room in a wave, and then Lance whooped loudly and the crescendo of it increased. It was partially fueled by adrenaline and anticipation of what was coming, and just a moment of release for them to take happiness in being alive and together. 

“Now then,” Coran said, grinning like the madman he was, “let’s go save a Balmera!”

\----

“Alright team, Pidge is going to drop in close and get Hunk, Matt, and I on the ground. With Green’s cloaking she’ll be able to get us close to the caverns where Allura believes the Yellow lion is. Keith, Lance, you need to be the distraction for the Galra until we’re on the ground. Draw them away from us for as long as you can. Pidge will join you as soon as we’re off.”

“Roger that Shiro,” Lance chirped, he was situated in Blue already, hands gripped the controls in anticipation of the launch. Blue’s constant kneading into made helped to keep the anxiety at bay.  

“But guys remember, the Balmera is alive. We aren’t going to be able to keep the Galra ships you shoot down from crashing into it, but try to avoid sending any direct blasts into it if possible. It’s weak and I don’t want it to get any more stressed,” Hunk said. 

“We understand Hunk. We’ll be as careful as we can,” Keith said. 

“ _Alright paladins,”_ Allura said over the comms. “ _It won’t be easy to remove the_ _Galra_ _presence, but once they are gone I can restore_ _its_ _quintessence. Now, let’s go and make our parents proud!”_

The lions roared and launched into the sky. The green lion shimmered and disappeared from view. 

“Alright team, we’re dropping in hot. Lance, Keith, be ready to engage immediately,” Shiro said. 

White light flashed through the sky and each pilot slammed their thrusters forwards, dropping into the middle of the small Galra fleet before their enemies could register what had happened. 

The glow snuffed out and in a second Red and Blue were careening in opposite directions as drone fighters were vomited from the belly of the lone battle cruiser stationed at the Balmera. 

“Alright Keith, let’s split the herd. You go left, I go right. We need to get to the surface and draw ground fire towards us as well.”

“Good plan. Let’s get ‘em sharpshooter.”

“Wooooo!” Lance yelled. He pulled blue up and into a back flip, spraying the fighters behind him in a spray of ice before ramming into them so they shattered into pieces. 

Keith laughed and went the other way, engulfing his pursuers in infernos and shredding them with his tail beam, then zipping away faster than the Galra could anticipate. 

The occupants of the Green lion watched all this with fond exasperation, feeling comforted by Lance’s jubilant shouts and the playful banter that passed between the two lovers. 

“Alright, Pidge how far can green get us into that hole?” Shiro asked. 

“My scanners are picking up a lot of Galra activity in those mines. My cloaking is good, but if Green flies right past someone’s nose they’ll notice. Ships can’t pick up my burn trail, but an unprotected person will sure as hell feel it.”

“Okay, then drop us at the top, on the other side of the command tower. The three of us will make our way down. Hunk, once we’re in can you find your way to Yellow?”

“Yeah Shiro, I can already feel her,” Hunk said a bit breathlessly. 

“Good. Matt and I are going to be your backup so once we get down there, you worry about getting to Yellow and we’ll watch your back. She’s our biggest priority right now. As soon as we get her we can all focuse on freeing the Balmera.”

“Do you think Black will wake up once Hunk get’s her?” Matt asked. 

“I hope so. This would be easier with Voltron.”

“But we’ve never formed Voltron before,” Pidge said in response to Shiro. “Even if we get Yellow, and Black wakes up, we don’t have the time to go back to the castle, retrieve her, and get back here. That’s too many wormholes for Allura to open and it would put us at risk of a Galra slipping through and transmitting the location of the castle to the rest of the Galra. And even  _if_ we did that, we don’t know if we can form Voltron. I know we all love each other and yadda yadda, but it’ll probably still take time.”

“ _Pidge has a po_ _i_ _nt,”_ Allura’s voice over the comms made them all jump – they'd nearly forgotten their lines were still open. “ _I wish we could rely on Voltron here, but we must be realistic. It’s best for us to anticipate doing this fight in our separate lions.”_

_“The princess is right, and barring any surprises, there should be no need for Voltron,”_ Coran chimed in. _“This is a small fleet and they’ve never encountered anything like the lions before. After Blue’s flight from_ _Nalquod_ _, and our jail break of Red,_ _Zarkon_ _may suspect Voltron is back if his memory has remained intact after 10,000_ _deca-phoeb's_ _, but the rest of the_ _Galra_ _won’t know us. Even if they broadcast they’re under attack, these little guys here won’t know who we are or what to even report. Our best bet is to finish this fight quickly, then help the_ _Balmera_ _relocate through a wormhole before any reinforcements can arrive.”_

_“_ Alright team, then let’s get to yellow as quickly as possible. Lance, Keith, you two holding up?”

_“Yeah but energy signatures from the battlecruiser are ramping up. It’s going to fire something big and if it misses it’s going to hit the_ _Balmera_ _,” Keith said._

_“I got it, I’ll distract it and try to draw whatever it is to me,” Lance replied._

_“No! Red is faster, I have the best chance of dodging.”_

_“And you also have the weakest shielding. If you don’t dodge you can’t take a hit like Blue can. Keep the fighters away from the caves, let me distract the cruiser.”_  Lance didn’t wait for confirmation before he was pulling up and away from the planet, focusing his fire on the shielded cruiser to get its attention. Keith’s cursing was the only confirmation. 

“We’re about to touch down, you three ready?” Pidge asked. 

“As I'll ever be,” Matt grumbled. “Though I thought my days of fighting ass holes was behind me when I left the rebels. I’m getting too old for this.” 

“You’re my age!” Shiro said. 

“Did I stutter?”

“Oh my god, go already,” Pidge snapped. 

“Roger that fearless leader,” Matt chirped before dropping out of green. 

“We’ll stay in touch Captain,” Hunk said with a mock salute before following after Matt. Pidge whipped around in her seat and fixed Shiro with a glare. 

“Don’t you dare,” she said, pointing a finger at him. 

Shiro smiled angelically and said, “Be safe out there... Admiral.” 

“ _Guys stop, I’m trying to avoid th_ _ese_ _big ass energy beams and I can’t do that when I’m laughing so hard,”_ Lance’s breathless voice came over the comms. He kept giggling and everyone couldn’t help but smile. 

“How in the hell are we the universe’s only hope?” Pidge grumbled. 

“ _Okay Lance, Keith, we’re off. Lance, you keep pulling that cruiser’s fire. Pidge, Keith, start destroying as much as their infrastructure as possible,”_ Shiro said. 

“ _Will do, but I’m getting crazy energy signatures from this cruiser. I think it’s ramping up for something but I'm not sure what,”_ Lance said. 

“ _Keep alert then. If it looks like something you can’t hand_ _le_ _i_ _want you to pull back immediately.”_

_“Okay, as long as it’s not aimed for the_ _Balmera_ _.”_

_“Even if it is aimed for the Balmera pull back!”_ Keith snapped. A grunt was Lance’s only response. 

“Keith,” Pidge said, “follow me. Let’s take out all these guard towers. We need to clear as many as possible.”

“ _Got it.”_ The Red lion pulled back into a graceful loop, dropping down behind his pursuers and taking them out with a single blast from his tail beam. Keith blasted forward, taking out Pidge’s pursuers as well before falling in behind her. 

The first tower went down easily until the drones figured out their goal, then the enemy fighters began swarming the towers to prevent any more from being destroyed.

“ _The cruiser just spat out another wave of drones, half of them are heading towards the surface,”_ Lance said. 

“Lance that means half are with you!” Pidge said. 

“ _You need to get out of there, come back and form up with Pidge and I.”_

_“I can handle it, don’t worry!”_

_“Guys!”_ Hunk said through the comms. “ _We’ve found_ _Balmerans_ _down here! The_ _Galra_ _have had them enslaved – they want to help us but it’s worse than we thought. Even if we clear out the_ _Galra_ _and stop the mining, it probably won’t recover. The_ _Balmerans_ _say it’s already on the verge of a total collapse.”_

_“Can we evacuate them before that happens?” Pidge asked._

_“I don’t think there will be enough time,”_ Hunk replied. Gunfire sounded through his comms and distantly they heard Matt and Shiro shouting to each other. 

“ _Pidge, Keith, can one of you get back to the castle? I may be able to prevent the_ _Balmera_ _from collapsing if I can get to the surface,”_ Allura said. 

“ _Pidge, go, I can handle things down here,”_ Keith said. 

“Alright, I’m pulling up, Lance can you keep them back while I get through the wormhole.”

“ _Sure, I’m already avoiding drone squadrons and energy canons, why not keep any of them from slipping by and through a wormhole too,”_ Lance grumbled. A ‘BOOM’ went through his comms and Lance yelped. 

“ _Lance!”_ Keith shouted. 

“ _I’m fine!”_ Lance said breathlessly. “ _But quick question, how the_ _quiznak_ _is Allura going to fly with Pidge and keep the wormhole open?”_

_“Once I've opened the wormhole, all it requires is quintessence to keep it open. While Coran cannot open one on his own, he can keep one open for a short time.”_

_“How did I not know this before?”_

_“Lance,”_ Shiro said, “ _now’s not really the time.”_

_“I know but seriously, I had no actual idea Coran could keep a wormhole open!”_

_“I can only keep it open for a_ _dobash_ _at most, it’s a last resort kind of plan my boy,”_ Coran supplied helpfully. 

“Alright princess, I’m up! Open the wormhole and get ready for a quick exit.”

The Green lion lit up with a brilliant white glow as the wormhole opened. Pidge looked to the side in time to see Lance intercepting the group of drones that had branched off in her direction. He took a couple hits and everyone could hear his hard breathing. 

“ _Go fast, I’m not going to be able to hold them long.”_

Right before jetting through the wormhole Pidge watched the blue lion drop and twirl to avoid another canon blast from the cruiser. 

“Dammit,” she muttered as the serene planet of Arus came into view. She angled green into a steep dive, heading straight for the castle. 

“ _Go, princess! You and Pidge have a_ _dobash_ _before it closes!”_ Coran said.

“ _New question, if Allura is here with us how will we get back to the castle?”_  

“ _Concentrate Lance!”_ Keith said. 

“ _I’m just asking!”_

_“_ Allura I see you, get ready!” Pidge swooped down, the green lion’s mouth opening in anticipation. The landing was fast and messy, sending up a cloud of dirt and a blast of heat, neither of which phased the princess. She leapt into Green’s mouth and Pidge didn’t wait for it to close before she was pulling up and blasting back up. 

“ _Thirty ticks!”_ Coran’s voice came strained through the cockpit just as Allura made it inside. 

“Got it!” Pidge said. She didn’t acknowledge Allura gripping onto the back of her chair, she just jammed her thrusters forward, urging green on as fast as the lion could go. Coran’s exhausted counting down didn’t even register. Her eyes stayed locked on the glowing portal, Green nose breaking through just as Coran called his limit. Her tail barely closed before the glow disappeared and the wormhole snapped shut.  

“ _Thanks_ _the stars,”_ Lance said when he saw them get through. He sounded exhausted. 

“Paladins, Pidge and I will make our way to the surface now. Hunk, what’s the status on the yellow lion?”

“ _We got some resistance down here! The_ _Balmerans_ _are helping how they can, but we’re in a standoff,”_ Shiro said. 

“Keith, what about you?”

“ _Getting a little hot down here. These towers have some sort of auto track firing. I managed to take down a few but now the rest have a lock on me and all I can do is evade!”_

_“_ _Quiznak_ _, I think it’s an ion canon!”_ Lance yelped. 

“Impossible! That technology was exclusive to Altea!” Allura said. Pidge turned Green around in time to see the massive blast leave the cruiser, aimed straight at Lance. 

“Lance!” she shrieked. Blue managed to drop, but the beam followed his trajectory and managed a glancing blow on his right flank. They all heard Lance yell. 

“ _Dammit, I can’t disengage to get up there. Lance!”_ Keith yelled. A glow on the cruiser indicated the ion canon was powering up again and Blue was flying at half her speed, Lance completely silent save for his too-quick breaths of exertion as he evaded drones while keeping an eye on the canon. Pidge wanted to help, but Allura needed to get to the Balmera’s surface as soon as possible if they wanted any chance of keeping the creature alive. 

Lance tried maneuvering up and away, but was cut off by drones just as the ion canon ramped up. If he didn’t move he would get struck straight on, but the drones were corralling him to stay in its path. 

“Lance move!” Allura said. The glow intensified and then a blur shot out of the mines and didn’t hesitate before breaking atmo and throwing itself in front of the partially crippled blue lion just as the beam fired. The yellow lion’s shields rippled and the blast sent it careening to the side, but it remained otherwise unscathed. 

“ _Sorry we’re late, you good buddy?”_ Hunk asked. A shaky laugh came from Lance. 

“ _I am now, good to see_ _ya_ _big guy,”_ Lance said. 

“ _Allura, Shiro and Matt are still down there leading the_ _Balmerans_ _to the surface. They know how to help you save the_ _Balmera_ _, you just need to lend them your strength.”_

The green lion landed on the Balmera’s surface with a thud and Allura wasted no time jumping out. Over their heads the red, blue, and yellow lions swarmed, taking down drones and keeping the surface safe. 

As soon as Allura was out, Pidge took off and kept Green low, flying the lion in a tight defensive pattern, focusing more on defending those on the surface than proactively chasing enemies. 

Hunk switched between covering Lance, then Keith, and in the span of a few dobash Keith managed to take down the rest of the guard towers with Yellow’s help. 

\-----

A glow from below had Lance taking his focuse off the cruiser for a brief moment. He enhanced Blue’s cameras and saw Allura, surrounded by Balmerans, kneeling with their hands pressed to the Balmera’s surface. The strength of their quintessence made their circle glow. 

“Alright guys, while they save the Balmera let’s take out this cruiser!” Lance called. Blue was hurt, but she was eager to finish the fight. Keith and Hunk joined him a minute later and just as brilliant crystal burst from the Balmera’s surface, the cruiser went up in flames. 

Hunk and Keith whooped and hollered, the team below echoed their cheers, but Lance’s breath halted in his chest. He watched the burning cruiser. He saw... something come from the flames. Amorphous, colored a sickly purple, undulating in apparent agitation. As Lance stared it’s stop and a chill crept up his spine – the thing had no features but somehow it was if it stared straight back at Lance. 

All of this happened in the space of a few ticks, and then it shuddered and seemed to vanish into nothing, but Lance stayed paralyzed. He'd seen that before. He’d seen it. Where had he seen it?

He didn’t even register the others calling him, didn’t register their concern, because he’d seen that thing before. He’d seen it... and … he... he remembered where. 

\-----

The paladins sat ringed around the common room, each in varying states of agitation. Shiro was leaning forward, elbows on his knees and hands folded beneath his chin while his eyes stared at nothing. Hunk fidgeted anxiously and Keith obsessively twirled his purple and black dagger with one hand. His other arm was wrapped tightly around Lance’s waist in order to keep the thinner boy pressed close – after they’d returned he’d been reluctant to be more than a few feet away from her lover. Pidge was furiously typing into her portable console with Allura hovering at her side. 

“Are you sure?” Shiro finally asked. It was the first time anyone had said anything after Lance told them what he saw. 

“It was the same...” Lance paused, unsure how to refer to what he’d seen, “thing that came from the rift on Daibazaal.”

“How can that be possible? I mean, Voltron pushed those things back right? None of them got out and the rift is closed now,” Hunk said. 

“We thought so,” Shiro said. “But after Zarkon went into the rift... maybe something slipped through.” 

“So what does this mean? They were some sort of interdimensional creature right? So why’d they come out of the wreckage of that cruiser?” Keith asked. 

“Who knows. We received data on the creatures but it was stored on Olkarion and I wasn’t among those researching it. Allura, was anything stored in the castle?” Matt questioned. Allura looked up from where she’d been watching Pidge. 

“Pidge is searching castle systems for any information our parents logged on those creatures, but without a keyword she’s having to scan through a lot of data. I myself wasn’t told much about them. Coran, did my father or the paladins share anything with you?”

“I wish I could say they had Princess, but that was a tumultuous time. The paladins barely had time to speak with each other. I know as much as you do. Amorphous, aggressive, likely hostile, interdimensional with no known origin. We never knew if it was one massive creature capable of breaking itself into smaller pieces, or smaller creatures capable of coming together to create a larger mass. It could even have been a mix of both with them being separate but possessing a hive mind. The paladins were just so busy trying to contain them that no one had the time to try and do studies. I’m not sure they ever even worked out an intelligence level.”

“So what do you all think it means?” Hunk asked. Everyone fell silent – no one had an answer. 

“Nothing that came from that rift was a good thing. It brought nothing but pain and misery. Why would those creatures be any different?” Shiro asked. Allura stood up as soon as she noticed Shiro’s pinched expression. She swept over to sit beside him and pulled him gently, urging him to finally relax. He turned into her embrace and buried his face into the crook of her neck, loosely wrapping his arms around her and sighing deeply. No one knew what to say or what to do.

Keith and lance shared a look before Lance pressed closer into his side. They could get much closer without Lance physically getting on top of him, but Keith tightened his grip around Lance’s waist and pressing a kiss to his temple. Before he could pull away, Lance stopped him and returned the kiss. 

Today should have been joyful. The saved the Balmera, relocated it to a safer sector of the galaxy. Hunk had dreamily told them all about the Balmeran named Shay he’d met – waxing poetically about her kindness and strong beauty. Then they completed Voltron, the Black lion had dropped her barrier and accepted Shiro the moment they’d gotten back. It should have been a happy day. 

And Lance had been forced to ruin it. He hadn’t even been able to let them enjoy the victory for ten dobash before he had to drop the bomb. Now they all, especially Shiro, were once again being forced to confront memories of everything they’d lost. At every turn they couldn’t escape the weight of what had been stolen from them and it was Lance’s fault for bringing it up. Because of him they couldn’t just enjoy a small moment of victory. 

“Lance,” Keith said softly. Lance jerked, Keith’s arm keeping him firmly in place even as he instinctively tried to jerk away. His eyes came back into focus and saw everyone looking at him. He looked at Keith, a question on his face. 

“You were spiraling,” Keith said softly. Lance finally realized that he was breathing too hard, his panting breaths indicative of a panic attack he hadn’t even been aware was happening. 

“I’m sorry. Sorry I had to drop this all on you. I should have waited or I should have found a better way...”

“Lance, you did nothing wrong,” Allura said. “It’s a good thing you saw what you did. This was information we needed to have. The rest of us were too distracted by our victory to pay attention, but even after fighting for so long and taking a huge hit, you were watching. We don’t know what it means, but now we won’t be surprised. You did well.” 

“Thank you,” he said softly. 

“Alright, we’ve all had a long day. We can worry more about universe-wide problems in the morning when you’ve all rested,” Coran said. No one moved until Matt stood up with an exaggerated groan and snapped Pidge’s laptop closed. She opened her mouth to protest but Matt was already hauling her up and dragging her off.

“I’ll make sure this one gets some sleep,” he said, waving as he continued herding a protesting Pidge out the door. 

The rest of them scatted, and Keith and Lance found themselves in their room. They silently undressed and stepped into the bathroom. 

They opted for a shower instead of a bath, washing silently until they finally just stood under the warm spray. 

Keith stood behind Lance, arms wrapped around his waist, pressing soft kissed to his shoulders. Lance melted into the touch, little sighs leaving his lips as Keith mouthed over sensitive spots. 

“You scared me today,” Keith murmured, mouth still pressed to the warm, wet skin of Lance’s neck. 

“That’s going to happen a lot now that we’re paladins.” 

“I know.” Another kiss landed on Lance’s shoulder. “And I’ll never not be scared.” Another kiss.

One of Keith’s hands dipped lower, pausing below Lance’s navel when he let out a soft gasp. 

“Can I touch you?” Keith whispered. 

“Please,” Lance breathed. Keith never stopped his kisses, even as his heated palm wrapped around Lance’s length. The Altean’s back arched and he let out a quiet moan, pressing harder back against Keith while simultaneously trying to push forward into Keith’s grip. 

“It’s okay baby, I’ve got you,” Keith murmured through a kiss while Lance writhed. Keith kept a steady rhythm, lazily working Lance up and reveling in the soft little gasps and moans. Lance was never loud, but his soft sounds of pleasure made love and heat swell in Keith’s core. 

“Keith, please,” he gasped out, voice still barely above a whisper. Keith pulled his hand away and shut off the water. He turned Lance around and kissed him, their tongues lazily twirling around each other. 

Despite the heat between them, their movements were unhurried as they stepped from the shower and dried off. Lance giggled into their kiss as Keith vigorously used the towel to dry his hair, then took to kissing Keith’s neck so the half-Galra could towel dry his own hair. 

Then they were stumbling to the bed, unwilling to stop kissing each other to make the walk easier. At the edge, Keith lowered Lance gently. Everything he did with Lance was gentle. His touch, his words, his heated whispered praises. 

And Lance trusted him implicitly. He didn’t flinch with Keith when they did this, not anymore. He simply spread his legs and pulled Keith down for another hot kiss while Keith began to work him open, slow and unhurried just like everything else. 

Lance continued his quiet sounds, breathless little moans and mewls as Keith deftly explored him, curling his finger into Lance’s most sensitive spots, making the slimmer boy arch into him and murmur Keith’s name. 

Keith took his time prepping Lance. When they weren’t kissing, he was staring straight into Lance’s eyes, never turning away and making sure to commit every expression to memory. 

“I love you,” Keith said, dropping for another kiss, his fingers crooking expertly to make Lance whimper into the kiss. He swallowed the sounds and kept rubbing that spot to elicit more. 

“Please, Keith, love, I'm ready. I’m ready,” Lance begged into Keith’s mouth. Keith pulled away and paused, taking a moment to just study the man beneath him. His cheeks were flushed, his lips shiny and swollen from their kissed, hair mussed from the way he had been tossing his head. 

Keith smiled, he couldn’t help it. One hand went down to his own length to line himself up, and the other cupped Lance’s cheek. He rubbed his thumb over one of those glowing marks and he was overcome with such emotion that he nearly felt like crying because Lance was there. Lance was happy. Lance trusted him. Lance’s heart and body were open to him. Lance’s face was relaxed and his expression held nothing but trust and love. Lance was there, he was Keith’s and Keith was his and after everything they were there together. 

“I love you,” Lance whispered. His hand came up and brushed away a tear Keith hadn’t even known had fallen. 

“I love you so much,” Keith said before finally pressing into Lance’s warm wet heat. Lance’s mouth opened into a gasp and his back arched, but his eyes didn’t leave Keith’s. 

They waited like that for a few dobash until Lance was used to the fullness, and then Keith began to gently rock. A choked gasp escaped Lance’s throat, higher in pitch but still quiet. 

“You feel so good. So warm. You’re so perfect,” Keith said. Lance giggled a little, rolling his hips up to meet Keith’s thrust, making them both groan at the same time. 

“Touch me, please,” Lance said. Keith obliged with a smile. He increased his pace slightly and wrapped his hands around Lance’s length. It was lean and long just like the rest of him, the skin softer than any silk. 

“Mmhn,” Lance moaned, biting his lips and alternating between meeting Keith’s thrusts and rolling his hips up into Keith’s fist. 

“That’s it baby, take what you want,” Keith said. Their pace increased with the tempo of their breathing, words lost between hot kisses and soft moans. 

“Keith, I'm, I...” Lance panted, voice raised in pitch. 

Keith pressed a kiss to Lance’s mouth and whispered, “Let go Lance.”

Lance arched off the bed with a quiet cry, releasing all over his torso and Keith hand. Keith himself wasn’t far behind, milking Lance through his release before pulling out and releasing his own spend across Lance’s stomach as well. 

They kissed lazily for some time afterwards, waiting for their breathing to slow and their hearts to go back to normal, before Keith rolled off the bed. 

Lance whined a complaint, but Keith just laughed and went into the bathroom to grab a towel. He dampened it before walking back out to clean Lance, then he tumbled back into bed. 

“Can I be the big spoon tonight?” Lance asked. Keith laughed again. 

“I won’t complain,” he said. He turned onto his side and let Lance slot in behind him. Lance threw an arm over his stomach, pulling him back until they were pressed close. One of his legs wedged between Keith’s, and then he finally settled when he buried his face into Keith’s nape and let out a long sigh.

“Comfy?” Keith asked. Lance nodded. 

“Love you,” he said sleepily. Keith rested his hand over Lance’s where it rested on his stomach. 

“Love you too.” 

Keith waited until Lance’s breathing evened out and his body relaxed into sleep before finally allowing his own eyes to drift closed. He wasn’t sure what had nearly set Lance off earlier, but he’d recognized that distant, troubled look on Lance’s face and was grateful they’d been able to pull him out of it before it got too bad. 

He wanted to talk to Lance about what had been going through his head, but he’d been too desperate to feel Lance so he saved that conversation for another time. Finally Keith let himself fall into sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. Cute fluffy sex is like, the opposite of what turns me on but I really loved writing the soft, gentle scene between Keith and Lance.

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to chat with me outside the comments section of this website, feel free to hit me up on Tumblr: https://celty-writes.tumblr.com
> 
> I adore comments and respond to almost every single one I get so keep them coming! You all are amazing and beautiful people.


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